


Until I Found You

by dimpled_halo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha Louis, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Butt Plugs, Cam Boy Louis, Dildos, Dirty Talk, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Famous Harry, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, Jealous Harry, Jealous Louis, Jealousy, Knotting Dildos, Lace Panties, Love Bites, Love Confessions, Lube, M/M, Making Love, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Harry, Porn Star Louis, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rimming, Scenting, Scents & Smells, Sex Toys, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Songwriting, Unresolved Sexual Tension, guitar player louis, i guess maybe i should tag this as, ruts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-01 14:49:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16767277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimpled_halo/pseuds/dimpled_halo
Summary: Harry Styles is the popstar of the century, or so the media proclaims. He’s linked to every omega he’s seen with, donned as an alpha lothario who isn’t ready to settle down any time soon. His team works hard to publicise him as an alpha who can’t keep his knot in his pants, but not everything is as it seems.Louis Tomlinson, an aspiring musician working as a porn star and camboy, is waiting for his big break. When he meets Harry Styles he can’t stand the alpha that only uses his power and fame to bed as many omegas as possible. He runs into him at a party and hopes to never see him again only to find that Harry’s assistant is dating Louis’ best friend. To make matters worse, Harry’s about to embark on a world tour and is in need of a guitarist at the last minute, an opportunity Zayn uses to put in a good word for Louis.What happens when the opportunity that Louis has been waiting for finally comes, but at the price of having to share the stage with one Harry Styles?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [screwstyles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/screwstyles/gifts).



> Hiiiiii.
> 
> Thanks so much to Lynda for betaing and encouraging me along the way. Also Nadya this is for you since you've been waiting for this forever ;)
> 
> This fic isn't Brit picked and all errors are mine.
> 
> I don't know much about the music, porn or cam industry so everything comes from my imagination and I don't claim it as fact.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Also, I know that some things in this fic (or any fic I write for that matter) may seem unrealistic. But it's FICTION and nothing I write is meant to be taken as fact. These are all fictional worlds that I get to create to be however I want. Especially with abo. So please let fiction be fiction. If you're looking for something realistic go read some nonfiction.
> 
> Thanks!

_Wasn't looking for love until I found you_

Harry is drowning in a sea of people and still feels like the loneliest person in the room. His skin is hot and this custom-made Gucci suit isn’t helping. He finds the bar like a man lost in the desert finding a stream of water. As he makes a beeline for it, bodies crash into him and he doesn't care because he sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

The bartender is occupied serving many cocktails until his eyes land on Harry.

“What can I get you?” He shouts over the loud music blaring through the speakers.

Harry cups his hands around his mouth. “Give me a Jack and coke, please. Make it a double.”

The bartender nods. “Coming right up.” He works with practised ease pouring the whiskey and Coke at once until the cup is filled to the brim. He reaches for two lime wedges and a straw before placing a napkin on the counter with the cocktail on top.

Harry takes it, the cool glass is refreshing against his palm, and he raises it before taking a sip. The liquid burns in the most delicious way. He’s been craving it all evening, and it’s like he can finally get the semblance of relaxation.

Being Harry StylesTM is exhausting and tonight’s not any different. He’s been nonstop all day since the moment he opened his eyes this morning. His manager Niall rushed him to get showered so hair and makeup could work on him while his stylist prepared his suit. After all that, he was rushed to an awaiting limo with his “flavour of the week” — an up-and-coming omega model in need of publicity — and driven to the award show. Harry did his due diligence, parading around with the pretty omega on his arm. He smiled for the cameras and acted coy when asked who his companion was and if they were dating, but he played it up like he always does. At this point he’s become an expert, it’s like an art form.

A hand on his shoulder interrupts Harry’s thoughts, and he turns to find the culprit.

“Harry! There you are!” Niall shouts even though he doesn’t need to. “The paps are waiting outside ready to photograph you and Leslie exiting and getting in the same car together.”

Harry gulps the rest of his drink before setting it on the counter and nodding at the bartender when he catches his eye. He takes a deep, calming breath before pasting a smile on his face.

“All right.”

Niall takes him to where Leslie is waiting near the exit. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes glazed, hair flattened out, and she grins as they approach her.

“You ready, Popstar?” She winks, extending her arm and opening her hand in invitation. Harry takes it, palms moist with sweat making him want to retract his hand back and wipe it off somewhere, but he doesn’t.

Niall checks to make sure they’re ready for their exit and returns with an affirmative nod so they can leave the club.

The sea of flashes is blinding. Harry is guided by his bodyguard toward the awaiting limo and he pulls Leslie with him. She has her head down, pretending she doesn’t want the paps to see her but it’s all an act.

 _Everything_ is an act.

When they get to the vehicle, Harry opens the door and guides Leslie inside before joining her in the back seat. His bodyguard closes the door and the car moves.

The flashes never stop.

“Are we going back to your place?” Leslie’s voice is low and seductive and Harry wants to roll his eyes. This _always_ happens. These omegas get hired to be seen with Harry and they always think there’s a chance to bed the famous popstar. It makes bile rise in Harry’s throat. Maybe it’s the artificial alpha scent he sprays every morning that attracts these omegas and they can’t help their biological instincts, but either way, Harry isn’t interested. He takes a whiff of the inside of his jacket and tries not to wrinkle his nose — it’s not the scent.

Harry yawns. “I’m knackered, so we’ll just drop you off and call it a night. It’s been a lovely evening.” He attempts to use his most charming voice, but it’s close to 2 AM and he didn’t lie about the being knackered part.

Leslie deflates, her face falling comically, and Harry _almost_ feels bad for her. She sits up straight and nods, her lips forming into a thin line. She says nothing for the rest of the ride to Harry's relief. The driver pulls up in front of her flat and she turns to him, her eyes still laced with traces of hope. For what? Harry isn’t sure but he could take a guess.

“Goodnight, Leslie.” Harry says with firm finality.

The bits of light she had in her eyes dim but without another word she turns to open the door and let herself out. When she slams the door shut, Harry lets out a breath.

Another successful day pretending to be an alpha gets marked on the mental calendar in his brain. As the limo drives again, he rolls the window down, taking in the fresh night air hitting his heated skin. There aren’t many stars in the London sky, but if Harry stares hard enough, he can spot a few. He closes his eyes, letting the wind crash against his face. He treasures small moments like these where he gets to take off the Harry StylesTM mask and just gets to be _Harry._

Not alpha Harry, not secret omega Harry, _just_ Harry.

He takes another deep breath and opens his eyes. He’s home. With heavy limbs he climbs out of the vehicle, shaking hands with the driver and thanking him before going into the building. The lobby is empty except for a lone person manning the concierge desk.

“Goodnight Mr. Styles.” The man tips his hat and Harry extends a hand.

“You too. What’s your name? You must be new.” The man takes his hand, his eyes shifting and smiles.

“Wi-William, sir.”

Harry shakes his hand and pats him on the shoulder. “Nice to meet you William. Please, call me Harry. Have a good night.”

He’s alone in the lift and Harry’s ears ring from being in a crowded room with loud music. The lift dings to the tenth floor and the doors spread open revealing the front door to his flat. When he pulls out his keys to unlock it, his eyes are heavy. His body must know he’s close to his bed.

Harry’s home is his safe haven. Nobody here keeps him under a microscope watching his every move. Nobody here cares if he’s alpha or omega or whatever. It’s his safety blanket after a long night like tonight where he has to be on at all times and not allowed to let his guard down.

After locking his front door he sheds his clothing and grabs a pair of shorts out of his dresser and heads straight to the shower with his towel in hand. He wants nothing more than to wash the sweat and artificial alpha scent from his body. After drying off and putting his shorts on, he gets into bed. Under the covers, the cool sheets feel amazing against his skin, his eyes fall shut.

Just as he’s about to give in to sleep, Harry’s phone buzzes on the nightstand. He groans as reaches over to get it. It’s Niall.

_Don’t forget to tweet about tonight and like Leslie’s post on Instagram. Have a goodnight bud x_

A deep sigh escapes Harry’s lips as he reads the text. He texts back an affirmative and does what he’s told. It’s not a bother. Well most days it isn’t. Harry kept his true gender hidden before his career even began. As much as society claims it’s 2018 and male omegas should be happy that things have come so far from how they used to be, it’s total bullshit. He saw first hand how they get treated in the industry and he decided at an early age that no one would ever know. So, he does whatever it takes to keep it that way, even if that means he has no one to come home to at night. It’s a sacrifice he made on his own and nobody will change his mind.

Harry plugs his phone to the charger after he’s done his social media sweep and settles his head on top of his pillow.

At least in his dreams he doesn’t feel so alone.

Harry groans as soon as the morning light hits him. Even with his eyes closed the brightness is unwelcomed. He rubs his eyes, letting them get adjusted to the light before he blinks. Niall is standing by the foot of the bed, his lips formed in a thin line and hands on his hips.

Harry’s stomach drops as he sits up on his elbows. “What’s wrong?”

Niall is a ball of sunshine, always enthusiastic and there for Harry when he needs it. He’s what keeps Harry motivated during stunting. When Niall isn’t happy, Harry knows it’s not good news.

Niall lets out a breath. “Robbie quit. I got a call from him this morning telling me he won’t be able to be part of the tour anymore.”

This is devastating news for Harry. Robbie was his beloved guitar tech that has been around for every single tour since Harry’s career took off and he headlined shows. There was no one else Harry trusted more than Robbie. Tour is just a few weeks from now and there’s no time to train someone to be half as good as Robbie.

“Fuck. Did he say why?” Harry asks, sitting up resting his back against the headboard.

“His mum’s got ill, and he needs to stick around.” Niall informs him, taking a seat next to Harry on the bed.

“That’s terrible. Make sure we send his mum flowers and a get-well card.” Harry says as an afterthought. “What are we going to do?”

Niall meets his eyes, and looks just as clueless as Harry. “I don’t know. I’ll make some calls and see if anyone’s available. The timing sucks.”

Harry agrees.

**~*~  
**  


Louis’ eyes close as the pretty omega on his knees wraps his lips around his cock. He exaggerates his facial features to show he’s enjoying it while the alpha behind him spreads him open and licks into him.

“Fuck!” Louis holds onto the alpha’s head to push him in deeper while trying to keep his hips from bucking into the omega’s mouth. At least not yet.

Moans echo throughout the set, the lighting is so hot a sheen of sweat is forming on his skin.

“Okay, cut! Let’s get the omega between the two alphas now. Brandon, I want you to suck on Louis’ dick while Ashton fucks you, okay?”

They move into position, making Brandon lean over the table face down and wait for their cue.

“Action!”

After they’re done with the scene Louis takes his bathrobe and jumps in the shower. He’s meeting Zayn for a late lunch before band practice. They have a gig on Friday and they still haven’t gotten the songs how Louis wants them. Louis isn’t sure how he became the leader of the band. Maybe it’s his personality or the fact he’s the only alpha while the rest are betas and he’s just biologically born with a dominant personality. Whatever it is, his band depends on him to make decisions on their behalf, book the gigs, and sing their songs. And Louis does it with joy because music is his passion and he’ll do what he can to get their band noticed.

Traffic is a nightmare, but it’s expected living in the city. The cab driver’s got the radio on and he almost groans when the DJs talk.

_“Harry Styles was pictured leaving Velvet Nightclub last night with Leslie Taylor. A source who saw them at the club says they looked rather cosy and didn’t leave each other’s side all night.”_

_“Leslie’s the newest Victoria’s Secret Angel and is going to walk in the fashion show where Harry’s ex fling Sofia Herrera is scheduled to perform. Talk about drama!”_

Of course, Louis thinks. Leave it to Harry Styles to take over every headline. Why anyone wants to know what omega he’s sleeping with is beyond him.

The cab driver arrives at Louis’ destination before he’s tortured with any more useless celebrity gossip and Louis rushes to pay him before getting out of the cab.

Louis is only a few minutes late to lunch, but Zayn’s face makes it seem like he’s much later. He apologises before they order and the waitress excuses herself.

“How’s work?” Zayn asks, a bored look on his face as he types something into his phone.

Louis takes a sip of the glass of water provided to him before responding. “It was work. Had a threesome. The usual.”

Zayn snorts and continues typing.

“Can you tell Liam that you’re having lunch with me so I can have my best friend time for a change? He’s been hogging you for weeks.” Louis hasn’t met Liam because Zayn has only been dating him for a month and Louis knows he won’t introduce them until he feels it’s getting serious. It might never happen because Zayn gets bored with the people he dates pretty quickly.

Zayn places his phone on the table and smiles. “There. Phone’s locked. Now, how are you?” He grins so wide, it’s so unlike him.

“Okay, stop. Don’t do that.” Louis shudders.

Zayn giggles, shaking his head. The waitress returns with their food and they dig in. Louis hadn’t realised how famished he was until he takes a bite of his burger.

“So, I’d like you and Liam to meet.” Zayn says it so casually that Louis nearly misses it. His best friend continues eating as if he said nothing and Louis’ eyes widen.

“Oh yeah?” Louis isn’t sure what else to say. Zayn hasn’t been serious about anyone in over a year when he dated Gigi. But even that didn’t last more than a few months.

Zayn hums. “Yeah, I think you’d both get on well.”

Louis swallows his food and nods. “Okay. I’d love to meet him.”

“Liam invited us to a party on the posh side of the city. You up for it?” Zayn and Louis have been best friends since sixth form and he knows him better than anyone else. It’s why even though Zayn is trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing, he can notice his leg fidgeting under the table. Zayn is nervous. Things with Liam must be more serious than Louis originally thought.

“Yeah. I’m up for it.” Louis tries his own tone of nonchalance because he doesn’t want to put his friend on the spot and tease him. At least, not right now. Zayn’s face relaxes and they resume their eating.

Lunch with Zayn runs late and now he’s late to practice. Louis hurries to the club Oli scored them free rehearsal space in because his brother is an owner.

“Sorry I’m late.” Louis huffs out trying to catch his breath. He sets his guitar case on the floor and puts his hands on his knees.

Calvin and Oli are the only ones here unless Steve went for a wee or something. Either way, Louis’ band mates look nervous and won’t meet his eyes.

Louis stands up straight and runs a hand through his fringe to get it out of his eyes. “What’s going on lads?”

Calvin’s eyes shift towards Oli who is avoiding Louis’ gaze. An unsettling twist settles in Louis’ stomach. Louis knows he’s getting bad news so he braces himself for the punch.

Oli scratches the back of his head and moves from one foot to the other before meeting Louis’ eyes. “Steve quit the band. He got a really cool gig he couldn’t pass.”

Louis lets out a frustrated sigh. “All right. So what are we going to do?” They don’t know of anyone else who could replace him, and they sure as hell can’t continue without a drummer.

Again, Calvin and Oli glance at each other. “Look, man.” Calvin begins. “We were talking about it, and we think it’s best to just break up the band and go our separate ways. I have a full-time job and it’s been getting harder to work practising into my schedule.”

“Yeah, Lou. We aren’t getting anywhere and we’re getting too old to just mess around when we have other obligations.” Oli continues.

A wave of emotions hits Louis then. He’s angry that his friends didn’t bring their concerns up sooner and instead just ambushed him with all of this. He’s sad because he doesn't want to break up the band. They only play a few open mic nights here and there, but Louis is confident they can make it. He knows it isn’t easy, and he’s more than willing to do whatever it takes to get there. But now he’s lost hope it will ever happen. What is Louis supposed to do without a band? He’s a scrapper, but he sure as hell can’t play all the instruments _and_ do the vocals. He deflates, resigned to accepting his reality.

Oli and Calvin murmur a few more apologies, but Louis doesn’t want to hear it. He’s mad at the situation, but he’s not mad at his friends. He understands where they’re coming from but it doesn’t alleviate the way he feels. Louis grabs his guitar and leaves without another word, he needs time to process and figure out a plan on where to go from here.

There’s a heavy weight on Louis’ chest when he arrives at his flat. After unlocking the door, he puts his guitar case away and toes off his shoes by the door before heading straight for his bedroom and falling flat on his bed. Louis groans into the sheets, needing an outlet for his frustrations. In that moment his phone chimes with a notification, but he ignores it for now. He prefers to wallow in his own misery.

Louis doesn’t realise he’s fallen asleep until his alarm blares reminding him he needs to be live on cam in half an hour. There’s a satisfying crack in his back when he stretches his arms and legs and forces himself out of bed. The camera is hooked and ready to go, and Louis powers on the laptop sitting on his desk across from his bed. He moves some of his dirty clothes out of the camera’s shot and smooths over the sheets on his bed then takes off his clothes before putting on the clothing he had in mind to wear tonight. The time on his phone lets him know he has ten minutes to go. He rushes to the bathroom to brush his teeth then runs a hand over his fringe and checks his body out in the mirror. Once he deems himself presentable, he takes a deep breath before returning to his room.

As much as he’s not in the mood to be in front of the camera tonight, he knows it will help cheer him up. Louis has been camming way before he filmed porn. In fact, camming got him in touch with an adult film producer and the rest is history. 

Louis goes live, and many of his regulars are logging in. He pastes a seductive smile on his face and waves at the camera.

“Hello loves. I hope you’re having a lovely day. Welcome to your weekly instalment of Louis Live.” Louis bites his bottom lip and reads the comments appearing on the screen.

“Hi alphalover45, it’s good to see you again! I hope you enjoy the show tonight,” Louis says, continuing to respond to as many comments as he can for the next few minutes.

“Thank you everyone for the comments. I really appreciate them. I have something special for you today and I hope you like it.” Louis runs his hands down his bare chest pinching one of his nipples and licks his lips. “I’m wearing something I think you’ll enjoy. It’s not something I’ve worn on camera yet and thought it would be fun.”

Louis stands and backs away from the camera so his audience can get a better view of his body. His image on the screen shows his pink lacy panties and matching stockings to his audience. Running his hands across the lace, he turns so the camera catches a good view of his arse. He grabs his arse cheeks and smacks one gently before rubbing it across the rough fabric and turns to look over his shoulder. The screen explodes with comments, his users seem really excited about his outfit which gives him the confidence to continue.

“Now, who wants to watch me fuck an omega fleshlight?” Louis quirks an eyebrow as he watches the excited comments pop up on the screen.

The events of the day slowly fade from Louis’ mind as he gets to work. He has a show to put on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii. The update is a little early since I finished writing chapter 5 so yay.
> 
> Enjoy!

There’s a knock on the door that makes Harry jump as he’s adjusting the lapels of his suit jacket.

“Come in,” he calls as he continues to look at himself in the mirror to make sure everything is in place.

Liam walks through the door with a smile on his face.  “Hey Haz. You look great.”

“Thanks, Li.” Harry notices the small bag that could pass as a cosmetic bag in Liam’s arm. “Let’s get this over with then.”

Liam nods without another word and unzips the bag. He takes a vial of clear liquid and opens a package that contains a fresh needle, filling it with the contents from the vial. He looks at Harry through the mirror.

“Trousers down please. You know the drill.” 

Harry chuckles as he unbuckles his trousers pulling them down to expose his bum. “You know, you could have come earlier before I put my suit on.” He says as he bends over and places his palms on the dresser nearby so that Liam can get a better view of his arse.

Liam snorts. “I’m sorry. I had a patient run late on me so it made me fall behind.” 

Liam swipes a spot on Harry’s bum with an alcohol wipe and Harry braces himself for the prick of the needle, taking a deep breath. The shot is quick and rather painless, but it burns a little after. Harry rubs over the spot after Liam’s done and disposing of the needle. 

“I’m your patient too you know.  I need to be taking my suppressants at the same time every day.”  Harry admonishes as he zips up his trousers.

Liam rolls his eyes. “Relax. It’s not like it’s hours after. I’m only like fifteen minutes late.”

Liam takes a small brown glass bottle and uncaps it, pulling out a dropper filled with oil.  Harry exposes his wrists and lets Liam place a couple of drops of the scented oil rubbing them together to let it seep through his skin.  They do the same on his neck and behind his ears. 

Liam screws the bottle closed. “You’re all set. Any side effects you’re having I should know about?”

Harry adjusts some curls on his head and shakes his head. “Nope. All good, Doctor.”

Liam pats him on the shoulder. “Good. You ready for the party?”

“Yeah. I’m excited.  Been working on this album for a long time and I’m ready for the world to hear it.”  Harry can’t help the pride dripping from his voice as he talks. 

Liam smiles warmly. “They’ll love it Haz.” He seems to realise something as his eyes widen. “That reminds me. I invited Zayn to the party. I hope that’s all right.”

“Of course it’s okay, Liam. About time I get to meet him. You’ve been hiding him from all of us for weeks.” 

Harry doesn’t miss how Liam’s cheeks redden. He shrugs. “Well, you’ll get to meet him today. Just don’t embarrass me, please. I actually like him.”

Harry laughs. “I can’t make any promises. I’ve known you since we were in nappies and have many stories to tell.”

Liam groans. “You’re insufferable.”

Harry leans to smack a sloppy kiss on Liam’s cheek. “Aww, I love you too.”

Niall bursts through the door, disrupting their conversation. 

“Any good news for me Niall?” Harry asks. He’s been asking him every day since Robbie quit.

Niall frowns. “I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on?” Liam asks, his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. 

Harry lets out a sigh. “Robbie quit and we direly need a new guitar tech since tour is just a few weeks away.”

“Fuck, that sucks. I’m sorry guys.” 

“It’s all right. We’re just trying to find someone but no one we know is available and the longer it takes the less time we have to train them. It’s been a nightmare.” Harry tells him.

Liam nods in understanding. 

Niall claps his hands together.  “Well, we should head over to the venue, H.”

Harry takes one last glimpse in the mirror. He sniffs his wrist and wrinkles his nose. He supposes he’s as ready as he’ll ever be. 

The album release party for Harry’s upcoming album is being held at a venue in the city. The limo pulls up by the front entrance and Harry can see the paps waiting and ready to take his picture. With a deep breath he opens the passenger door and the waves of flashes bombard him instantly as he makes his way inside.  There are people already here, journalists, people from the label, and other artists. 

Harry puts on his Harry Styles TM  mask as he goes around the room to shake everyone’s hand and thanks them for coming. He gives a few interviews, talking about the album and the meaning behind his songs, providing practiced answers given to him by his PR team. The journalists seem satisfied with his responses. 

There’s a bar in the far end corner of the venue and Harry makes a beeline for it, ordering his go to cocktail and taking a grateful sip. It instantly calms the nerves that thrum through his body from the moment he arrived. 

Niall approaches him placing a hand on his forearm. “Townes is here.” It’s all Niall has to say for Harry to understand what he means. 

Harry has a song named “Carolina” where he sings about an omega named Townes. It was his team’s idea to have a whole story about it to bring the song to life. Whatever sells the story they’re going for. 

“All right,” Harry says, placing his empty glass on the bar top. Niall guides him toward the area reserved for him and his band — and Townes. She’s already there, sitting with a drink in her hand twirling her hair. She sees Harry and her eyes light up. 

“Hi Harry,” she says. Harry and Townes are acquaintances who met  through a friend. They see each other at parties now and then. When Harry’s team approached her about the song, she was more than happy to play along. Since she’s an aspiring model, it will obviously benefit her to agree.

“Hey Townes, how are you?” He leans over to kiss her cheek, knowing it will get people talking.

They converse for several minutes and Harry puts his arm over the back of the sofa they’re on so it looks like they’re getting cozy with each other. He whispers into her ear and makes her laugh and Harry can see in his periphery that people are taking notice. He thinks he even catches a few people taking pictures with their phone. There’s a reason phones are allowed at the party.

They call Harry to the stage to perform a few songs from the album, and he plays “Carolina” winking at Townes and making eyes at her now and then. People look in the direction he’s gazing, and he hopes they’re putting two and two together. 

When Harry finishes his set, he’s received with a round of applause and he bows his head in appreciation, thanking the crowd. He excuses himself to go to the loo because he’s becoming overwhelmed with all the surrounding people. As much as he pretends to be someone he’s not, it’s been taking a toll on him lately. He weaves his way through the crowd, finding the bathroom without a problem and pushes the door open. 

Harry stands in front of the sink and stares at his reflection in the mirror. He doesn’t miss the light gray bags under his eyes and the paleness of his skin. Sometimes, when he has to pretend so much, he doesn’t recognise himself.  He needs to see his reflection to remember that he’s still Harry even though sometimes he doesn’t even recognise some things that tumble out of his mouth.  Harry has always been a charming person but, knowing he has an image to sell, he turns that charm up as much as he can.

The flush of a toilet startles Harry out of his thoughts and he steels himself, ready to flash a fake smile for whoever comes through the stall. What Harry doesn’t expect is to see one of the most beautiful people he’s ever seen.  This person is gorgeous with caramel skin, soft, light brown hair that sweeps in a handsome fringe, with cherry red lips. As he gets closer, Harry can see that his eyes are crystal blue like the ocean.  Harry stares for longer than he should be, and the man’s gaze flicks towards him, making him avert his gaze back to the mirror. He pretends to be fixing his hair, but he can’t help trying to catch a glimpse at the man through the mirror. 

“You got a staring problem, mate?” The man’s voice makes Harry jump, his tone is hard, but also soft and raspy if that’s even possible. Harry wants him to keep talking, even in that tone if he’d like. 

Harry shakes his head. “N-no. I’m fine. How are you doing?” 

The man scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t think that’s any of your business is it?” 

Harry’s eyes go wide, not being used to anyone talking to him so rudely and it catches him off guard. He doesn’t know how to respond. His pulse is races and his blood rushes in his ears.

Harry looks down at the sink, not wanting to make the man any more uncomfortable.  “No, I guess not. Sorry for bothering you.” 

The man says nothing in response. He pumps soap from the dispenser and washes his hands before grabbing a couple of paper towels and disposing of them. He makes a noncommittal sound before making his way across the bathroom toward the door, passing by Harry.

Harry inhales as the man walks by, opening and slamming the door behind him. But Harry doesn’t notice because his mouth waters and his cock twitches in his pants. The man — an alpha — smells like cinnamon and honey and Harry gets lost in the scent until it fades away. He can’t help the pout that forms on his lips wondering what the hell he ever did to cause such a reaction out of someone he doesn’t know. 

Could it be that he could smell the alpha in Harry and he was being territorial? That must be it, Harry tells himself.  He’s never had that reaction from another alpha, but there’s always a first time.  He splashes water on his face and stares at his reflection again and hopes he has no more unpleasant encounters with any alphas.

~*~

Louis marches back to where he’d left Zayn before he went to the loo.  This evening hasn’t been going well for him.  Liam left out a tiny detail about the party he invited them to — that it’s an album release party for Harry Styles.

Louis isn’t Harry’s biggest fan and that’s the understatement of the year. Not only is the guy overrated and overplayed on the radio, he’s a knothead who uses his position to take advantage of omegas. The guy goes through omegas faster than he changes pants and it annoys Louis to no end.  He wants to get tonight over with, meet Liam, and get going as far away from here as he can get.

Louis finds Zayn by the bar and he’s talking to another man who is smiling at him like he’s the only person in the room. Zayn has his hand on his forearm and he’s giggling at whatever the guy is saying. Louis approaches them and only feels a little bad interrupting their little moment. 

Zayn notices Louis and makes some distance from the guy. “Louis you’re here. This is Liam.” He gazes at Liam and says, “Liam this is my best mate, Louis.”

Louis flashes a friendly grin and shakes Liam’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”

Liam mirrors the same smile. “Same to you.”

“It would have been nice to know you invited us to a Harry Styles party,” Louis can’t help but comment. 

Liam brightens up and giggles. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t want it to feel like I was showing off or something.”

“Why would it be showing off?” Louis asks.

Zayn goes back to touching Liam’s arm. “Liam here is Harry Styles’ assistant. Can you believe it?”

It takes everything in Louis not to roll his eyes. “Oh really?”

“Harry is a good friend of mine,” Liam says rather timidly. He looks over his shoulder and waves someone over. “Haz, come here!”

Louis looks in Liam’s direction and finds Harry Styles walking over to them. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. He takes a deep breath and tries not to groan because he’d rather bolt out of here than meet Harry Styles.

Harry approaches them and smiles at Liam. “Hey Liam, what’s up?” His gaze shifts over to Zayn and then to Louis and he freezes. His smile drops and his eyes blink rapidly. “Who do we have here?” 

“This is my boyfriend Zayn and his best mate Louis,” Liam gestures to them. Zayn extends his hand to shake Harry’s and Harry takes it. 

“It’s nice to meet you Zayn. Liam won’t shut up about you,” he says. His grin reappears, this time with a dimple carving into his cheek and a playful look towards Liam. Liam’s face flushes.

“Oh does he?” Zayn’s eyebrow quirks and stares at Liam.

“Louis! You haven’t shaken Louis’ hand. Don’t be rude Hazza,” Liam says to distract him from getting more embarrassed by Harry, Louis assumes.

Harry reluctantly looks at Louis again, his lips curving into a small, forced smile. “Nice to meet you, Louis.”

Louis has no choice but to take Harry’s hand because he doesn’t want to be rude in front of Zayn and his boyfriend.  Zayn has no idea about his dislike for Harry because he usually just keeps it to himself. Maybe he should tell him to avoid having to see the guy again. 

They let go of each other’s hand and Louis tries to subtly wipe his hand on the side of his trousers. A blonde man approaches them and taps Harry on the shoulder. 

“I just talked to Benny, and he isn’t available either,” he tells Harry loudly so they can hear him over the music.

“Shit.” Harry says, worry overtaking his eyes. 

“Still no luck?” Liam asks.

The blonde shakes his head. He seems to notice that there are other people with them and he smiles. “Hi, I’m Niall.”

Harry says nothing, still looking stressed out and instead, Liam steps in. 

“Louis, Zayn, this is Harry’s manager.”

They shake Niall’s hand and Zayn asks. “What’s wrong?”

“Our long time guitar tech quit on us a few days ago and we’ve been trying to find a replacement. Tour is just a few weeks away, and we’ve had no luck finding anyone.” Niall laments.

Louis snaps his head toward Zayn whose eyes light up and he seems to have the same idea. 

“Um actually. I might be able to help? I just came from tour with Ed Sheeran,” Zayn offers. 

Liam grins at that. “You didn’t tell me you’d been on tour with Ed. You said you were a music instructor.”

Zayn shrugs. “I am right now. I’ve been teaching lessons while looking for another job.”

Niall and Harry stare at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation between them.

“Well, can you work for us? We’d need to show you the ropes as soon as possible,” Niall tells Zayn.

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. I just have to find someone to replace me at the center and I’m all yours.” Zayn says.

Niall cheers. “Great!” He throws himself at Zayn and wraps his arms around him. “You’re a lifesaver and my new favorite person.”

They all laugh and Harry’s mood seems to have brightened up with the entire conversation.  Louis is happy to just be an observer.  He’s sad that Zayn won’t be around, but happy that he’s found another job.

A couple of weeks later, Zayn shows up to lunch fifteen minutes late. 

“I’m sorry I’m so late. Tour rehearsals have been shit, mate.” Zayn explains, taking the menu and examining it. “I’m famished.”

Louis takes a sip of his Coke and shakes his head. “No worries. Glad you could make it.”

“I have the greatest news, though!” Zayn says after they order their food.

Louis raises his eyebrows. “Yeah? What is it?”

“So, Harry’s guitarist, Mitch, broke his arm today skateboarding.” Zayn explains.

“That sounds like terrible news, Z.”

Zayn snorts. “Well, that part is yeah.  So, Harry was freaking out because tour is like a week away, right?  But guess what?” Zayn looks almost giddy which again, Louis isn’t used to seeing on him.

“Oh just get on with it and get to the point.  Jesus.” Louis groans.

“I told Harry I know a friend who is great at guitar and could learn the songs in no time.”  Zayn says smugly.

Louis is about to ask what friend that is when it hits him. Zayn is looking at him expectantly and all Louis wants to do is throw up.

“You didn’t…” At that moment, the waitress comes back with their food before excusing herself again.

“I did! I told him you would be available to do it. I’m sorry for just saying that without making sure, but I mean, this is the opportunity of a lifetime isn’t it? You’ve been waiting for a door to open and this is your chance, Louis.” Zayn tells him, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

Before Louis can protest, he thinks about Zayn’s words and he’s right. Doing porn films was always a temporary thing for him, something to hold him over and pay the bills until the right opportunity came along. As much as he hates to admit it, this is a door opening for him and Louis would be stupid to turn it down. He’d be beating himself up if he never got another chance like this again, knowing he’d missed it. He takes another sip of Coke, trying to wash away the uneasy twist in his stomach. As much as he dislikes Harry Styles, the guy is famous as fuck and can help put Louis out there on the map in the music world. 

Louis shakes himself out of his thoughts and pastes on a smile. He never got around to telling Zayn about his dislike for Harry, and now he thinks it’s better this way.

“You’re right. Thanks for putting a good word for me, mate. What did they say?” Louis nibbles at his food here and there, but he’s lost most of his appetite.

“They want you to come in for an audition, but I think it’s just a formality. I’m sure you’ve already got the gig in the bag,” Zayn assures him. 

Louis nods in acknowledgment but says nothing else. Isn’t sure what to say, really. 

Doing stuff in front of the camera has always been Louis’ go to thing to cheer him up and today isn’t any different.  It isn’t a live cam day, but he sometimes records videos and posts them to surprise his viewers. Since he hasn’t done one in a while he does one today. 

Louis gets his camera ready on the tripod in front of his bed, testing it to make sure he gets a good shot. Once he’s satisfied with it he takes off all his clothes and grabs the things he needs, setting them aside where he can reach them. 

Louis hits record and kneels on the bed, facing the camera and smiling before doing a short introduction before he gets to work. He begins with jerking himself into full hardness, making obscene noises he knows his subscribers like. Louis reaches for the lube, kneels on the bed again, this time his back to the camera and opens himself up one finger at a time. He arches his back, looking over his shoulders and licking his lips as he works his fingers in and out of him. 

Just because Louis is an alpha doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy playing with his arse. 

Once he’s deemed himself prepared enough, he gets the dildo that knots up with just the press of a button on a remote. Louis lubes it up nicely since he doesn’t produce slick to be able to take an alpha cock. He lines the dildo against his hole and breaches it with the head at first. Shivers run down Louis’ spine as he feels himself get stretched out by the silicone dick. He continues to press slowly until the dildo slides inside him. 

Louis smiles dopily at the camera, already feeling fucked out before he moves the dildo in and out of him. It doesn’t take long to work himself up, whining and moaning while using his other hand to pinch his nipple. His lips are bitten red, and he’s fucking himself harder now, hitting his spot relentlessly.  Just as Louis is about to come he clicks on the button on the small remote he has laying on the bed next to him. He shouts as his rim gets stretched out by the artificial knot. 

Louis stops the movements, letting the knotted dildo sit inside him as he pants hard trying to catch his breath. He lays his head face down on the pillow and groans at the sensation of being filled up, it’s overwhelming. The pressure from the mattress makes Louis whine, and he ruts against the bed, so close to the edge he can almost taste it. It doesn’t take long for Louis to spill come all over the bed as his own knot swells against the mattress. He cries out, the fullness and his own knot swelling is almost too much. He lies there for minutes upon minutes waiting to come down from his intense orgasm.

Once his knot has gone down, he presses the button on the remote to deflate the knot on the dildo. Slowly and carefully he removes it from his arse with a wince.  Realising he’s still recording he turns to the camera with a weak, sleepy smile.

“I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. See you guys next time.”

  
  
  
~*~

Harry  is weak .

As much as he pretends to be an alpha for the public to see, it doesn’t stop his omega from making itself known,  especially  now.

“Fuck.” Harry groans.

Harry is ashamed about what he’s done. He blames it on Google. And his nosy brain.

After the album release party, Harry had to know more about Louis. Louis Tomlinson as Liam had told him. So, he  Googled his name, and it all spiraled from there.

Turns out, Louis is a fucking porn star. A hot as hell, drool worthy, alpha porn star.

Harry never stood a chance. 

That led to videos upon videos of Louis fucking omegas, alphas, betas.  Getting fucked even, which Harry didn’t think would turn him on as much as it did. That led to Harry stumbling upon Louis’ webcam page.  According to his profile, he does cam shows on Fridays and sometimes he posts videos of himself too. Harry might have also gone through those.

Harry might have also subscribed under the user-name esnyomega. It sent a thrill down his spine getting to pick a user-name that reveals his true gender even though no one will know it’s him. Now he’ll be receiving email notifications anytime Louis posts a video or goes live. He looks down at himself and his cheeks flush in shame. His torso is covered in come from the multiple times he’s wanked watching all those videos of Louis. He’s ridiculous.

To be fair, he hasn’t had sex in a long time.  Being a hidden omega comes with its downfalls, including not being able to have a sexual partner without them knowing your true gender. Harry has gotten alphas in the past to  sign NDAs so that his secret wouldn’t get out, but it's too much of a hassle so he’d rather just go solo than have to go through all that paperwork.

A knock at his door startles Harry.  Thankfully  he’d used his indoor lock for when he’s in heat so that no one would walk in on him and put him in a dangerous situation.

“Harry open up !” Niall shouts on the other side.

Harry sighs. “I’m naked and getting dressed. What do you want?”

“Louis Tomlinson is here for his guitar audition.” Niall informs him.

Fuck.  Fuck ,  fuck fuck . 

Harry  completely  forgot that was today. His stomach fills with dread at the thought of facing Louis after he’s just wanked to his videos. Shit.

“I’ll be right out!” Harry shouts and  reluctantly  gets ready. He takes one of the quickest showers he’s ever taken and throws on a pair of joggers and his favorite Rolling Stones shirt before heading his living room where Louis and Niall await. 

“Sorry for making you wait. Niall did you offer Mr. Tomlinson something to drink?” Harry avoids Louis’ gaze, feeling that if he looks at him Louis will tell what he’s been up to. He doesn’t stop from trying to catch a whiff of Louis’ scent though. It’s not as strong as the other night at the party, but it’s still there as faint as it may be. Harry closes his eyes for a moment before blinking them open again.

“I’ m good , thank you,” Louis answers. He sounds annoyed, but Harry doesn’t want to waste time wondering why. He already knows the guy doesn’t like him and if he weren’t so desperate to find a guitar player, he wouldn’t have even considered Louis.

“All right then,” Harry says finding a spot on the sofa next to Niall. “Let’s hear it.”

Harry still tries his best to not look at Louis in the eyes. Louis stands up with his guitar already out of its case and moves to stand in front. He straps the instrument across his chest, playing out a few notes to make sure it’s tuned.

“Um. I’ve already been listening and practicing some of your songs so I will play some of that.” Louis announces before he places his fingers on the  appropriate  notes and plays.

Louis  is good . He is playing “ Sign of the Times” and it’s flawless, like he’s been playing it for years. It’s like Louis was there with Harry in the studio the day he wrote the song he’s so familiar with it. Harry can’t stop staring at Louis’ fingers and the way they  expertly  move on the neck of his electric guitar. The same fingers Louis used to finger that needy omega in that video Harry saw less than an hour ago. Fuck. Harry swallows the dry lump in his throat and tries to focus on Louis’ performance. His music performance not his porn film performance.

“Carolina” is next and Louis has his eyes closed through most of the song.  Harry is caught in a trance watching him and the way his bottom lip is caught between his teeth, just like when he took that alpha’s knot in that other video. God. Harry shakes his filthy thoughts away. He can’t be picturing Louis in all these compromising positions all the time,  especially  if he will be joining the tour, playing next to Harry almost every night. 

Harry takes deep breaths to calm down before he gets  hard in front of Niall and Louis throughout the rest of his performance. When Louis plays the last note, he looks at them with a hint of nervousness in his eyes . Niall turns to look at Harry who returns his gaze.

“So what do you think?” Niall whispers even though there isn’t a point because Louis can  clearly  hear them.

Harry clears his throat before making eye contact with Louis without incident. “I’d love to have you on  tour . I think you’ll be a great fit,” he lies about the loving to have him on tour part. 

They won’t make a great fit because for some reason Louis can’t stand Harry. But, Harry is nothing but charming and he’s sure he can change Louis’ mind about him. At least he hopes he can if he wants to have a smooth tour with no tension within the band.

Louis nods at them. “Thank you.” It’s short and simple, but Louis looks  genuinely  grateful and dare Harry say relieved?  Interesting .

“Rehearsals are bright and early tomorrow morning. Stick around so I can get your information and send you the details along with the tour schedule,” Niall gets straight to business and Harry is forever grateful for him. 

Harry stands, needing to get out of Louis’ presence because his scent is getting more potent for whatever reason and he doesn’t want to make a tit of himself. 

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll see you tomorrow, Louis.” Harry says before turning and leaving without waiting for a response. He feels bad for leaving so suddenly , not wanting to  be rude , but it’s not like Louis has  been kind to him, anyway.

Harry walks to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and leaning his head against it, letting out a deep sigh. It will be a long tour with Louis on board.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hiii so I just finished writing Chapter 6 so you get this new chapter :)
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely comments, they really encourage me to continue this story.

Louis can’t believe he actually got the gig. Even though Zayn said the audition was a formality, there was still a part of him that didn’t think he would get it due to his encounter with Harry at the party.

Harry seemed different this time around. Gone was the confident alpha that owned the room surrounded by beautiful omegas. Instead, he saw a quiet, maybe even shy or embarrassed person who gave Louis no sort of alpha vibes if it wasn’t for the faint musky scent that lingered in the air.

Louis practised the songs from Harry’s setlist thanks to Zayn's access to it and giving him the edge he needed to show how perfect he is for the position. It thankfully worked and now that he’s home, Louis needs to make some arrangements.

Based on the schedule he’s given for the next six months, Louis won’t be able to do any porn films. It’s not something he’s really bummed about since porn was always just a way to earn extra cash for him. He still plans on keeping up with his camming though they won’t be live for as long as the tour lasts. There’s a video he needs to record explaining his situation to his viewers. Louis will pre-record videos on his days off and upload them when he can. He hopes it will leave his subscribers on the edge of their seats wondering when he will post the next update.

Louis calls the producer of the film they scheduled him to shoot next week to let them know they must find a replacement. There isn’t a contract he’s bound to, so getting out of it isn’t too much of a hassle. He’s sure they’ll have enough time to find someone willing to take his place.

He gets creative with the video he films for his viewers. Not only does he explain that his live sessions are temporarily postponed, but he also records himself doing a sexy striptease that ends in wanking and tasting his own come. Louis also asks them to send him suggestions of what they’d like to see so he doesn’t have to spend too much time trying to come up with something while he’s on the road.

Louis hopes the video is enough for his subscribers until the next time he’s able to record. With rehearsals starting tomorrow, Louis isn’t sure when the next opportunity to record a video will be.

With everything settled and in order, Louis orders a pizza and calls it an early evening, watching Jurassic World before turning in for the night. He doesn’t know what to expect tomorrow, but he knows anything involving Harry Styles will test his patience. He just hopes he can get through it without trouble.

Louis’ first day of rehearsals turns out to be better than expected. He’s introduced to the tour manager and the rest of the band — Sarah the drummer, Clare on keys, and Adam on bass. He’s given a physical copy of the setlist and they get to work on making sure their instruments are tuned. They run through the songs with just the instruments to see how well Louis fits in with them. Mitch is around in case Louis needs any guidance before he leaves to recover, but he mostly does pretty well without him.

The band gets a fifteen minute break before Harry joins them to go over the setlist together. It takes everything in Louis not to roll his eyes whenever Harry talks. He keeps reminding himself why he’s here and why he’s doing this. The last thing he wants to do is piss Harry off and get fired on his first day. Louis does his best to keep his attitude in check around Harry. It will be a difficult feat since Louis' never been good at keeping his mouth shut.

Louis catches sight of Niall who approaches him with a bright smile and wraps him in a hug.

“Louis! Good to see you, mate! How’s your first day going so far?”

“It’s been good. Very excited to get on the road,” Louis tells him.

Niall pats him on the back. “Good lad. It will be great! Can’t wait to see how you work together.”

Louis nods and thanks him. He catches sight of Harry behind Niall staring at their interaction. Harry seems nervous, like he’s afraid if he gets any closer Louis will bite his head off, which is fair.

Niall notices and looks over his shoulder waving Harry over. “Haz come over here and say hi to our new guitarist!”

Harry’s cheeks redden, but Louis doesn’t miss how he takes a deep breath before striding over to them with a closed lipped smile.

“Hello, Louis,” Harry says. He doesn’t make a move to shake hands or a hug like Niall. He’s at a respectful distance, like he doesn’t want to make Louis uncomfortable or something.

Niall gets called over by a member of the crew, leaving Harry and Louis alone. Harry’s eyes widen for a split second, looking lost without their buffer. Louis lets go of his pride and decides to be the bigger person here, so he makes eye contact with Harry and smiles warmly at him.

Harry crosses his arms, his eyes falling on Louis’ lips. “How’s everyone treating you so far?” His voice is soft, like he’s trying to be careful about what he says to Louis.

Louis scratches the back of his head and looks around. “Good, yeah. Everyone’s been great.”

Harry nods. “Good.”

Before they can continue talking about anything else, they’re interrupted and told they need to get in their places and go through the setlist from beginning to end. Harry and Louis glance at each other and without another word take their places on the makeshift stage.

Louis is rusty on the first run through, especially toward the beginning. They start with “Only Angel” and Louis tries his best to get cues from Harry and Adam as they each play their parts. Sometimes both Louis and Harry play the guitar and Harry looks directly at him to make sure they’re going at the same pace. He doesn’t know why having Harry's eyes on him during his performance makes Louis nervous when he was fine during his audition. He brushes it off and works on finishing the set strong.

They wrap up with “Kiwi” which is Louis’ favourite song to perform so far because it’s so full of energy. By the time they play the last note, they’re all out of breath. Harry is a few feet away from him sweating and wiping his forehead with a hand towel.

“How was that?” Harry pants toward Niall and their tour manager, Jeff.

Niall is flashing a grin which Louis takes as a good sign, but then he looks over at Jeff, who has his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He whispers something to Niall, making his smile drop.

“What is it?” Louis can’t help but ask because he doesn’t like that they’re being talked about right in front of their faces and can’t hear what’s being said.

Jeff points between Harry and Louis. “There’s no chemistry, no connection between you two. It’s like you’re both in your own little worlds instead of working together to give us a show.”

Louis glimpses at Harry whose eyes are shifting toward him. Harry bites his lip and looks away, guilt colouring his features.

“Well... um.. it’s our first run through together, so... I’m sure we’ll get better the more we keep practising,” Harry mumbles. His eyes don’t meet Louis’ once when he talks, which is fine. Louis doesn’t care, really.

“I agree,” Louis says. “I’m still trying to get the hang of things and the whole group dynamic. I’m sure it will improve as we continue.”

Jeff huffs, seeming unconvinced. “All right, well we only have 6 days to make it happen so let’s go through it again and show me some improvement.” He claps his hands together and everyone goes back to their place to start from the beginning.

This is going to be a long day.

~*~  
  
  


Harry is going to die. He probably won’t make it to his opening day of tour and he'll be lucky if he makes it through this rehearsal. It’s only Louis’ first day.

They’ve gone over the songs multiple times, and the harder they work the stronger Louis’ scent becomes. Harry is seconds away from sporting a very obvious and embarrassing erection in front of his entire crew. He attempts to breathe through his mouth, which worked pretty well in the beginning, but now that the day is winding down it’s useless.

Louis’ scent has infiltrated through Harry’s pores and is running through his bloodstream going straight to his dick. He asks Niall for cold water to help him cool off and calm down but the relief is only temporary.

When they’re done for the day, Harry excuses himself and darts to the loo, locking the door behind him. He unzips his jeans and pulls his cock out of his pants, stroking himself frantically, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the wall. He sees Louis and how sexy he looked playing his guitar, with his eyes closed, feeling the music. Imagining the way Louis sticks his tongue out between his teeth in concentration makes Harry moan, and he uses his other hand to muffle the noises spilling out of him. It’s the memory of Louis’ scent that finally gets Harry to come, spilling into his hand. He works himself through the aftershocks and glimpses at his reflection in the mirror. His face instantly fills with shame. He averts his gaze and focuses on washing his hands and running cold water on his face and hair. The wank relieved some of the tension, but he knows if Louis is still out there when he returns, he’ll end up in the same predicament.

Harry takes a deep breath and unlocks the bathroom door, taking a peek out through the corridor, there’s no one around. He steps out and tries his best to act nonchalant and like he didn’t just wank to images of Louis for what feels like the millionth time this week. Niall is immersed in a conversation with Adam, while Sarah and Clare are getting ready to head out. Louis is nowhere to be seen, and Harry hopes he’s already gone for the day.

Niall notices Harry’s presence and looks up. “Hey Haz, you ready to go?”

Harry’s shoulders relax at just the mere thought of getting to go home to relax from such a gruelling day.

“Yes, please,” he whines. He throws Niall his keys and lets him drive them to his house.

Liam is at Harry’s house when they arrive, with his medical kit in hand ready to give him his suppressant shot. Niall leaves to give them some privacy and Harry figures if anyone could help him with his little issue it would be Liam.

“Hey Li, I’ve got a question.” Harry says while bending over.

Liam gives him the shot and Harry pulls his joggers back up. “What is it?”

Harry turns to face him. He considers sitting down, but his bum is still sore.

“Is there any type of anecdote available out there to suppress an alpha’s scent?” Harry asks carefully. He isn’t sure if that’s even a thing that would be available to him, but he figures it’s worth a try to ask.

Liam scrunches his eyebrows. “You want to suppress your alpha scent?” he asks confusedly.

“No, of course not. I mean... like if I want to not smell another alpha. Is there something for that?” Liam’s face smooths over as he understands Harry’s question.

“I’m afraid there isn’t. Why?”

Harry almost pouts at Liam’s response because, fuck. How is he supposed to work in such close proximity with Louis without getting an erection every time he’s around.

“I was just wondering,” Harry mumbles running a hand through his curls that have gone frizzy with the sweat he’s exerted at rehearsals.

Liam narrows his eyes. “You were just wondering, huh?” He crosses his arms. “Really, Harry. Why were you asking? Is there an alpha who you don’t want to scent?”

Harry closes his eyes for a moment. He can’t lie to Liam because they’ve known each other most of their lives and he knows Harry better than anyone else.

Harry groans. He plops himself on the sofa, sore arse be damned, and covers his face with his hands. “Liam, fuck!”

Liam moves to sit next to Harry and places his palm on Harry’s back to rub it comfortingly. “What is it? You know you can talk to me.”

After letting out a long breath, Harry tilts his head to face Liam, resigned. “It’s Louis.”

“Louis?”

“Yeah. Louis, the new guitar player. He... _God_ , Liam. He smells fucking amazing. I can’t... I won’t be able to make it through tour like this.” Harry confesses.

Harry makes it a rule not to hire alphas for things that will require them to spend a lot of time near him. They use the excuse that Harry is too territorial and can’t have other alphas around to avoid any discrimination lawsuits, but with them being in desperate need for a guitarist, Louis being alpha never came up as a possible issue. Harry didn’t even think about it until now. It’s not like he could change his mind about having him in his band, especially not with tour only six days away.

“That’s odd. You’ve never had this type of reaction to another alpha before,” Liam points out.

Liam is right. The worst reaction he’s had before meeting Louis was Harry having a negative reaction to an alpha’s scent. The guy smelled like spoiled fish and Harry couldn’t wrinkle his nose in disgust because he was in front of the cameras. He’d rather get stuck in that predicament than the one he’s dealing with right now.

“You’re right. I haven’t. What am I going to do?” Harry hopes Liam can find a solution. If they don’t, they risk people finding out Harry’s true gender and he can’t let that happen.

“We can get you some nose plugs?” Liam suggests.

Harry snorts. “Because that wouldn’t be completely obvious,” he says sarcastically.

Liam rolls his eyes. “I don’t know Haz. I’ll do some research and see what our options are. I’ll get back to you and let you know if I find anything.”

Harry kisses Liam on the cheek and wraps his arm around his shoulders. “Thank you, Li.”

  


Later that evening after Liam and Niall have gone home, Harry spends time in bed eating leftover Chinese takeaway browsing through the internet while Catfish reruns play in the background. He answers some emails and checks his social media accounts which leads to search for Louis’.

Harry finds Louis’ Twitter account, but it’s set to private and there’s no way he will send a request. He moves on to Instagram, and thankfully that one is not private. He scrolls through the pictures Louis has posted throughout the years and his mouth goes dry as he realises that most of them comprise him being shirtless. Harry has noticed that Louis has tattoos but at the time he was a little more preoccupied looking at other things than trying to figure out what they were. Now he gets to see them up close, especially the ones littering his collarbones and arms.

Tattoos are Harry’s weakness and Louis has plenty. He closes the window to stop torturing himself with Louis’ pictures and opts for checking his personal email instead and Harry groans. The first email notification he has is a new video from Louis. It was posted last night and Harry curses his past self for not checking his email sooner. He clicks on the link and is met with a soft looking Louis smiling so brightly Harry is almost blinded by it.

“Hello my lovelies!” Louis waves at the camera and Harry finds it so fucking adorable. “I hope you’re all having a great week so far. I wanted to film this video to update you on a few things. First, I wanted to inform everyone that Louis Live will be postponed until further notice. I love talking to everyone live so much and it bums me out I won’t be able to do it for a while but I’ve been given an incredible opportunity I just can’t pass up. Part of that means I must sacrifice a lot of my time including a lot of my Fridays. But don’t worry! I’ll still be posting videos, but they’ll be pretty spontaneous because I’ll be recording them whenever I have the time to do them.”

Louis’ voice sounds so light and airy, a tone Harry hasn’t got the chance to hear in person which might be a good thing unless he wants to get turned on even more by him.

“That leads me to my other point of business. If you have any suggestions or video requests, please send me a message. I can’t guarantee I’ll do them all, but I promise to try my best.” Louis’ eyes are crinkled at the corners and Harry pretends that he’s talking to him directly.

“With that, I’ll see you guys soon!” Louis blows a kiss to the camera making Harry’s face heat up. “Now, I’ll end this video with a little surprise I think you’ll like.”

Louis winks at the camera and stands from his chair, he’s wearing a simple white t-shirt and really short shorts that show the perfect swell of his bum. He turns up some music, “He Like That” by Fifth Harmony, and begins a sensual strip tease that makes Harry's heart rate pick up. 

Harry wishes he could reach out and touch Louis as he grinds his hips in front of the camera. What he wouldn’t give to grab hold of those luscious arse cheeks.

When Louis is completely naked, he lies on the bed and strokes his hardened dick and it’s over for Harry. He gets to work on his own erection and it doesn’t take more than a few tugs for him to come embarrassingly fast before Louis is even done.

Harry closes his laptop in shame before the video even ends and sets it aside. He closes his eyes and lets out a frustrated groan.

Louis is going to be the death of him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! Hoping I get another chapter done over the weekend so I can keep updating more frequently :)

“You want me to  _ what _ ?” Louis glares at Liam even though it’s not his fault he’s asking him to do this. It’s Harry’s, but he isn’t here to glare at so Liam will have to do.

Liam’s eyes shift, holding the bottle out to Louis. “We need you to spray this scent neutralizer whenever you’re around Harry. He’s a very territorial alpha and your scent has been making him a more aggressive. This is best for everyone involved.”

Louis scoffs, staring at the bottle like it’s personally offended him. He still doesn’t take it.

“This is ridiculous. Is he really that threatened by me?” Louis has never dealt with such a knot-headed diva in his life. He’s never had an issue like this with another alpha before. Most of the ones he’s encountered are able to control their natural instincts, but apparently for Harry that’s too difficult. 

What a fucking wanker. 

Liam stares at Louis helplessly. “Just take the bottle, Louis. Let’s not make this into a bigger deal than it is. It’s not hurting anyone, okay?”

Louis shakes his head disbelievingly and lets out a breath. Reluctantly, he takes the bottle of scent neutralizer and examines its contents, hoping there’s something in here he can use as an excuse not to spray it. Unfortunately it’s all natural with no harmful chemicals. Dammit.

“ _Fine._ But I’m still not happy about this. I’ve never dealt with an alpha who’s been this territorial.” 

Liam shrugs, not making eye contact with Louis. “There’s always a first time I guess. Thanks for cooperating.”

Louis turns in the direction of the bathroom and waves Liam off.

“Stupid, knot-headed diva arsehole,” Louis mutters under his breath as he walks through the bathroom door. He sprays the neutralizer and it doesn’t smell like anything to Louis, so he’s not really sure if it will work for Harry but whatever. Harry is his employer, and every employer has certain rules they want their employees to follow, at least that’s what Louis tells himself to be less annoyed about the whole situation.

Louis joins the rest of the band getting ready for their first run through of the day. Harry isn’t around yet, which for some reason annoys Louis even more but he tries to concentrate on tuning his guitar instead.

Harry finally shows up fifteen minutes late, making Louis’ eyes roll to the back of his head. 

“Hey everyone,” Harry waves, but Louis doesn’t acknowledge it, pretending to be busy with his guitar. 

They get to work and do the first run through, which Louis admits isn’t the best.

“Come on guys! You did better than this by the end of the day yesterday. Do it again,” Jeff orders.

Harry turns to Louis guiltily, but again Louis doesn’t react, just prepares to start over again. They run through the setlist a couple of times until Jeff deems it acceptable before they’re excused to go to lunch. Louis finds Zayn and they head to a cafe around the corner.

“God, it feels good to be away from that place for a little bit,” Louis comments as he opens his menu to see what he wants.

“Why?” 

Louis drops his menu. “So get this. Liam approaches me when I arrive this morning and asks me to wear some scent neutralizer because Harry has become ‘more aggressive’ since I’ve come around.”

Zayn’s eyebrows pinch together. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what his deal is.”

“That’s weird. But I guess you can never tell how an alpha will react around another alpha,” Zayn points out.

Louis snorts. “Or maybe just the famous ones act that way.”

They order their food and change the subject of their conversation. Louis is glad to have Zayn around because he’ll serve as a good outlet for his frustrations for the next six months. Being a beta, Zayn exudes a very calming energy, especially when Louis’ temper gets the best of him. Sometimes he wishes he were a beta because they seem to be so much more laid back and carefree and they don’t have to worry about ruts and humping things in public. 

By the end of their lunch, Louis’ mood has greatly improved and he’s ready to get through the rest of rehearsals. The rest of the day goes much better, with Niall and Jeff clapping at the end of their final run through of the day. Louis lets out a relieved breath, his confidence in his abilities growing with each song they play.

Harry spins to address everyone before they pack up to leave.

“Please wait here guys. Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.” Harry motions to Niall to accompany him while Louis and the other band members look at each other with the same confused faces. Harry returns with Niall not long after, each of them carrying a couple of boxes each. Niall hands out his boxes to Clare and Sarah while Harry hands his out to Adam and Louis. 

“Just a little gift to show how much I appreciate each one of you. I hope you like it!” Harry claps his hands in excitement as he watches them expectantly.

Louis looks examines his box with a Gucci logo on it and opens it to reveal a pair of black loafers with rainbows on them. He gazes back at Harry who’s staring at him with wide eyes.

“Do you like them?” Harry asks.

Louis can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips seeing how giddy Harry is and he nods.

“They’re great Harry. Thank you,” Louis tells him. Harry grins even wider if that’s even humanly possible and the rest of the band members also express their gratitude. 

“We’re having a tour kick off party tomorrow after rehearsals so bring your party clothes and be ready to drink _a lot_ ,” Harry informs them.

With that, Harry is pulled aside by Jeff and Niall and everyone else starts packing to head their separate ways, so Louis does the same. 

Okay so Louis didn’t bring his party clothes to rehearsals because he wanted to run home for a shower before meeting with the band and crew. Harry rented out an entire lounge for the evening so they could celebrate unbothered with an open bar and a DJ playing the latest hits. Louis has never heard of this place, but it’s very artsy and posh which might explain why.

“Louis you finally made it,” Zayn says when he approaches him. “I think you were the only one we were waiting for.”

“Why were you waiting for me? You could have gone on about your night without me,” Louis tells him.

Zayn walks them over to a table where Liam and Niall are already sitting. “No, Harry wouldn’t let us start without you. He hired a caterer to serve us dinner and we’re all starving, mate.”

Louis feels guilty hearing that. He had no idea what Harry had planned, but that does explain why he’d informed them to bring their party clothes so they could come straight here.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Louis apologizes.

Zayn waves him off. “It’s fine, we haven’t been waiting too long.”

Louis sits next to Niall, waving at him and Liam as he does. 

“Hello everyone,” Harry’s voice booms through the speakers. He’s standing by the DJ booth with a microphone in his hand. “Dinner is ready. There’s a buffet over there, help yourself to that and drinks. Nick over here will be playing some tunes and I better see you all dancing unless you want me to make you. Now, let’s celebrate!”

Everyone around Louis cheers and claps, and most stand to queue for the buffet table. Now that Louis thinks about it, he’s famished so he joins everyone else. There’s an enormous selection of food and Louis has trouble deciding what he wants to eat. He doesn’t want to over eat because he also wants to let loose and drink, so he settles for some fish and chips.

When Louis deems he’s full enough, he makes his way toward the bar and orders a vodka cranberry before joining his friends again. It doesn’t take long for Louis to get a good buzz going, his limbs become more loose and his body more relaxed. He finds himself laughing and joking with Niall and he decides that he really likes him. Liam and Zayn are practically sitting on top of each other with how close they are and Louis rolls his eyes at the disgusting couple. 

He watches everyone as they converse, dance, and have a genuine good time. It doesn’t feel like these are people he works with because even in the short time Louis has been here he already feels welcomed and accepted by them. Though, apparently not Harry. But the scent neutralizer must be working, because Harry seems to be more comfortable around Louis during practice. 

Which... _shit._

With all the rushing Louis did to go home and shower he forgot to spray some of the neutralizer before coming here. He’ll just have to not get too close to Harry. He’s sure he and Harry aren’t the only alphas here. Louis sniffs the air which confirms his suspicions, so he should be fine. 

Speaking of Harry, he’s been going around talking to everyone, pulling people to the dance floor and taking shots. Louis wouldn’t be surprised if he was already completely sloshed. 

The table Louis is sat at is now empty. Niall is out mingling with everyone and who knows where Zayn and Liam are. Louis doesn’t even want to know what they could be up to. He swirls his drink around in his glass before taking a drink, pulling out his phone to check if he’s got any messages. 

“Louis!” Before Louis can look up, Harry is plopping himself in the chair next to him. “Why are you here alone? Why aren’t you dancing?” It’s safe to say Harry is definitely drunk.

Louis tucks his phone in his jeans and pastes on a smile, emptying the rest of his glass. The familiar warmth of the liquor travels through his bloodstream making his eyes crinkle at Harry.

“I’m not alone, really. I had my good friend vodka keeping me company,” Louis jokes. 

Harry throws his head back in laughter, clapping his hands like Louis just said the funniest thing in the world. Louis doesn’t even think his joke was funny but still finds himself laughing along with Harry. God he must be sloshed too, or maybe he’s dreaming because he’s here with Harry Styles, laughing with him and not _at_ him. 

When Harry’s laughter subsides, he’s staring at Louis, his face unreadable. Louis has way too much liquor in his system to try to figure out what he might be thinking, he really doesn’t want to know anyway. Harry seems to shake himself out of it and grins. 

“You should dance with me,” Harry says like it’s the best idea he’s had all night.

Louis shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, mate.” He doesn’t want to tell Harry he forgot to spray on the neutralizer or ruin Harry’s mood because he seems really happy and bubbly. But then Harry fucking pouts. His lips are sticking out and his eyes pleading and _fuck._ Louis rubs at his eyes and groans. “Fine. Just _one_ dance and then I’m done, alright?”

Harry is already jumping out of his chair and grabbing Louis’ arm, pulling him toward the dance floor. Louis crashes with a few bodies on his way there, but he’s already too far from them by the time he can get an apology out of his lips. The song just changed into something a bit slower, which is just Louis’ luck isn’t it?

“Gods & Monsters” by Lana Del Rey blares through the speakers and Harry wraps his arms around Louis’ shoulders. It catches him a little off guard because it’s practically an alpha instinct to go for the waist in a sort of possessive manner even if it’s unintentional. Louis pushes those thoughts aside, wanting to just get this dance over with so he can go back to playing with his phone or finding Zayn. He puts his hands on Harry’s waist and his skin is so warm even with the layer of the flower patterned shirt he’s wearing. 

Harry leans in close, so close Louis knows if either of them were sober they’d never be this close to each other. 

“I love this song,” Harry whispers in Louis’ ear, his breath warm against his skin. 

Louis snorts. “This song isn’t even a recent hit,” he mutters. 

Harry shrugs his shoulders. “It’s on the playlist I had Nick play tonight.”

They’re not really dancing, more like moving from one foot to the other like two pre teens going to a school dance. Harry seems to notice because he begins to sway his hips with more purpose, grinding the air behind him. Louis wants to laugh, but for some reason it gets caught in his throat and he doesn’t move his hands from Harry’s waist. He almost wishes Harry’s shirt wasn’t in the way so he can see what Harry’s skin feels like underneath his fingertips...and what? Louis blinks rapidly a few times to clear his thoughts. He’ll need to get a glass of water to sober up a little because his thoughts are getting loopy. 

Harry lays his head on Louis’ shoulder and he can feel the deep inhale he takes, making him freeze on the spot. Harry seems to realize it too because his head snaps back up, his eyes wide.

“You’re not…” He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple moving with it. “Louis, where’s the scent neutralizer Liam gave you?” 

Harry is almost glaring at Louis now and it’s like he’s getting whiplash from how quickly his mood has shifted. 

“I went home to have a shower and forgot,” Louis admits. He’s let go of Harry now and they’re just standing facing each other in the middle of the dance floor. People still dance clueless around them. 

Harry’s nostrils flare, eyes still wide, and he suddenly spins and runs out of the room, leaving a very confused Louis behind. He almost wants to go after him, demand to know what the hell his problem is, but he doesn’t bother. Harry Styles will always be Harry Styles and Louis shouldn’t be surprised he’s reacting this way. He’s just being his typical diva self. 

Louis lets out an exasperated breath and decides he’s going to go find Zayn and call it a night. He’s not in the partying mood anymore and he has an early morning of rehearsals tomorrow. 

~*~

Harry’s brain is fuzzy when he opens his eyes. He doesn’t move, just shifts his eyes around trying to determine where he is and recognises his bedroom. 

How did he get there?

“Oh thank God,” Liam’s relieved voice makes Harry jump. He slowly and groggily leans up on his elbows to find his best friend sitting on the couch by his bed with wide eyes.

“What’s going on?” Harry asks, his voice rough from sleep.

Liam huffs. “You don’t remember?”

Harry rolls his eyes. “Obviously not. What is it?” 

Liam bites his lip nervously. “Liam come on! Just tell me!”

“You went into early heat at the party. I got a text from you with our special code and I ran to find you. You’d barely made it to your car where I found you lying in the back seat with your hand inside your pants.” Liam informs him. 

Harry’s face heats up and he tries to wrack his brain to try and remember. He’s only getting bits and pieces though. He remembers drinking way too much and he remembers texting Liam O11, which is a special code they came up with whenever anything omega emergency related happens. That’s the last thing Harry remembers, really.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to be back by the time the show starts tonight.” Liam’s voice interrupts his thoughts. 

His show kicks off tonight in London. _Fuck._ He must have been out for a few days. 

“I injected you with an accelerant. It’s not to be used often, only in emergencies because it can cause your body to build a resistance to it. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work on you.” Liam keeps explaining. 

“Accelerant? I didn’t even know that was a thing,” Harry says. He’s sitting up fully now and he covers himself up when he realizes he’s naked under the sheets. 

“It hasn’t been around long. It’s still a pretty new drug. I thought I’d have it with me on tour just in case, but I didn’t think I’d need it so early on.”

Harry would laugh at this entire situation right now, but he can’t even find the energy to do so. He wipes his eyes and sighs. 

“Thank you for looking out for me.”

“What happened at the party, Haz? What made you go into early heat?” Liam says. 

Harry rubs the back of his neck when it hits him. _Fuck._

“It was Louis.” He mutters. 

“Louis?”

Harry nods. “I was drunk. Like  _ really  _ drunk. And I asked him to dance. I figured we’d be okay since he’s supposed to be using that damn neutralizer but apparently he’d gone home and showered and forgot to reapply it before coming to the party. I had one sniff of his scent before realising what happened and bolted out of there. I didn’t think I’d go into early heat though.” He just wanted to get out of there to avoid awkward erections, but what ended up happening was so much worse. 

“I still don’t understand,” Liam says. “You’re on suppressants so this kind of stuff isn’t supposed to happen. The whole point of them is so that you can suppress the urges you get as an omega and also regulate your heats.”

Harry doesn’t understand either. It seems nothing has been going right since he and Louis crossed paths. He’s thrown his hormones all out and now he and Liam have to figure out a way to get him back to normal. Harry can’t afford to go into more early heats. The last thing he needs is to get the press’ attention if he has to cancel a show. 

“I don’t know Li. What are we going to do?”

“I’ll try a higher dosage and see if that helps.” Liam says standing to give Harry his clothes. “Now get dressed. You need to eat something and regain your energy for tonight. You’re going to have to apologise to the band too since they had to do the rest of rehearsals without you and they didn’t seem too happy about it. Especially Louis.”

Harry groans and falls back on the bed. “Perfect.” 

What must Louis be thinking? Does he hate Harry all over again? Harry doesn’t know how he’s going to face him without wanting the floor to open up and swallow him. Louis was just beginning to tolerate him and now he’s probably back to hating Harry. It feels like he goes one step forward into getting Louis to like him and then goes two steps back. Harry’s sure Louis is going to be pissed and have more reasons to dislike him. He’ll just have to work harder at trying to charm him.

Liam leaves Harry to his own devices and promises to be at the O2 arena to give him the higher dosage of suppressants. Harry makes himself get out of bed because he’s sweaty and sticky all over. He gathers his sheets and loads them to wash before replacing them with clean fresh ones and goes in the bathroom to have a shower. 

Harry takes one of the longest showers he’s taken in a while. The water is hot against his skin but he welcomes it because it’s a good distraction from his thoughts. Whenever his mind starts veering towards that night with Louis he stops and thinks about something else. His face fills with embarrassment just thinking about what it must have been like for Liam to find him and have to drag him back home. 

God bless Liam, honestly. He’s seen Harry at his worst and has been one of the greatest friends. He doesn’t know what he’d do without him and his expertise. No one knows that Liam is his personal doctor, he parades as Harry’s personal assistant to avoid any suspicion.

Harry washes himself thoroughly, making sure to get rid of all the sticky residue from his slick, not wanting to leave any trace of it behind. After the shower, he dries off and throws on a jumper and trackies and heads to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. He doesn’t have much of an appetite due to his nerves. He isn’t nervous about the show per se, he’s more nervous about having to face Louis. He takes a couple of bites of his granola cereal before giving up. He knows he needs to eat because he just got out of a heat, but he makes a mental note to have Niall get him something after sound check— after he’s seen Louis.

Niall arrives to pick Harry up not long after and they load up the car with his suitcase and things he’s packed for the tour.

“Hey mate, you doing alright?” Niall checks in with him once they’ve gotten in the car.

“I’m fine.” Harry says, putting his sunglasses on. Coming out of a heat feels just as bad or even worse than a hangover. His body is drained of energy and he has a massive headache and he’s thirsty as fuck. 

When they arrive to the arena, Harry is escorted to his dressing room where his glam team are waiting for him. He goes over the outfit for the day with his stylist, and tries it on to make sure it still fits. The last time he had a fitting was months ago and if they need to make any quick alterations, now would be a good time to do so. But luckily, everything still fits Harry perfectly. 

“Haz, they’re ready for you for soundcheck,” Niall peeks through the door to inform him.

Harry lets out a breath and tells Niall he’ll be right there. He gets out of his outfit and puts the clothes he came with back on before heading to the stage. The band is already there messing about and making sure all the instruments sound okay. Sarah is currently beating on each drum and cymbal to make sure the sound is good while Louis and Adam laugh about something and Clare is on a phone call. 

When Harry walks onto the stage everyone stops what they’re doing to look at him, and his face heats up.

“Hello everyone.” Harry says to break the silence that has fallen.

“Hey Harry. How are you? Niall told us you were sick,” Clare approaches him, tucking her cell phone in her pocket.

Harry waves her off. “I’m fine. Just a bit of food poisoning.” he tells her, corroborating the lie Niall told the group.

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Louis speaks up. Harry doesn’t expect that to come from Louis, but he nods appreciatively even though guilt begins to seep into him at the fact that he believes his lie. 

With that, soundcheck continues. They go through the set and thankfully Jeff seems happy with it, so they move on. Harry doesn’t have much interaction with Louis and he keeps it that way.

Harry’s off key a few times and he grimaces at the way his voice sounds during Sign of the Times. He avoids looking at Jeff already knowing what kind of faces he must be making. He makes them go through the set again, and Harry gulps down almost two full bottles of water, takes a deep breath and gives it his all. 

By the end of it, Jeff seems satisfied and Harry is relieved. He’s already starting to feel better by the time they’re dismissed and told they need to be ready to go by 20:30. Harry notices that Louis is already gone by the time he chances a glance behind him and can’t help the disappointment that settles in his stomach. 

~*~

The entire arena is buzzing and they haven’t hit the stage yet. 

Louis is hanging out backstage with the rest of the band. He’s all dressed and made sure to spray plenty of neutralizer to please Mr. Popstar. He’s messing around with his guitar with his earbuds on listening to Imagine Dragon’s latest album. Adam catches his attention and he pulls out one of his earbuds to hear what he’s saying.

“They want us by the stage in ten minutes.”

A rush flows through Louis that’s a mixture of nerves and excitement swirling from his head down to his toes. He’s never performed in front of a crowd this big. Hell, his biggest audience never even reached the thousands. If someone would have told him that he’d be playing the O2 arena just weeks ago he wouldn’t have believed it. Now here he is, ready as he’ll ever be.

The band is escorted to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the stage while they wait for the roadies to finish setting up everything. Louis can vaguely see the stage from where he stands. There’s a velvet curtain separating the audience from the stage while the crew finishes putting everything in its place.

Zayn appears and hands Louis the guitar he’s using for the opening song.

“You’re all set. Good luck!” Zayn’s smile is contagious Louis can’t help but mirror it.

“Thanks.”

When the crew is done setting up, the band goes on stage to take their positions. Louis is going to be on Harry’s left with his own mic stand. There’s a setlist taped to the floor by his feet to remind him what song goes after which.

As soon as the track of the choir begins for the opening song there’s a wave of deafening screams. Louis notices a movement pass behind him and when he looks over sees Harry walking to his spot on the stage.

Louis’ mouth goes dry.

Harry has a suit tailored to fit his body like a glove that sparkles from head to toe. His curls are fluffed around his head like a halo and he’s truly ethereal. Louis shakes the thoughts away instead working on focusing on his cue.

Louis isn’t blind. He knows Harry is gorgeous, so seeing him in his concert outfit shouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary.

The curtains finally reveal them to the audience and if it’s possible the audience gets even louder.

Louis has seen Harry in rehearsals dozens of times performing the songs over and over again but none of it prepared him for what he’s experiencing now.

It’s like the Harry Louis has known for the past weeks is gone and he’s been replaced with this jovial more outgoing man. Surely Harry has a double that performs for him, this can’t be the same person Louis knows, right?

Harry bounces around the stage from one side to the other and Louis catches sight of his infamous dimple which debunks his theory. No one else can have that same dimple.

It’s mesmerising watching Harry work the stage like he’s in his element, born to do this. Louis builds off the energy Harry puts out and uses it to give his best performance.

Halfway through the show Harry and Louis move on to a smaller stage to play a couple of songs. During rehearsals they’d had the rest of the band there, but now it’s just Harry and Louis. Louis adjusts the acoustic guitar on his chest, strumming it a couple of times to make sure it’s tuned. Harry meets his gaze and Louis nods to let him know he’s ready. In that moment, the entire arena goes completely silent, not a single sound in the room. When Louis begins to play, the music reverberates throughout the room. Harry stands behind the microphone stand, both hands cradling the mic with his eyes closed, and sings. The moment is magical with the combination of Harry’s deep, raspy voice and the sound of the crowd singing along. The entire arena fills with rainbow lights, illuminating the room so beautifully. It so takes Louis’ breath away he almost forgets to play his guitar. When the song ends, Harry’s eyes meet his and his lips curve into a smile that Louis returns. For that moment, times stands still, making Harry and Louis the only ones in the room. The moment ends when the cheers of the crowd pops their bubble and the show must continue.

Never in his wildest dreams did Louis think one of the happiest moments of his life would involve performing with knot-head diva Harry Styles.

~*~

Harry has never felt more alive than when he’s performing in front of a crowd. It’s like the audience has pumped him with the energy he was lacking this morning and he’s fully revived like a new man.

Harry and Louis share a special moment during his performance of “If I Could Fly”. Maybe it’s just in Harry’s head, but it was like they were the only ones in the room, awakening the butterflies in Harry’s stomach. 

The crowd is loving every moment of it as well and Harry couldn’t be happier.

He and Louis make eye contact a few times throughout the show and this time Harry doesn’t avoid his gaze instead he continues doing it. At one point he even winks Louis’ way when he sings “I’m having your baby” during Kiwi.

Harry doesn’t catch any hint of Louis’ scent but he also doesn’t attempt to sniff the air, not wanting to cause another early heat in front of everyone or something. 

Harry introduces the band and they take a bow together in front of the audience before Harry is escorted back to his dressing room.

Jeff comes bursting into his room before he can even begin getting out of his suit.

“Harry that was unbelievable! Talk about starting the tour with a bang.” He grabs Harry’s face and smacks a big wet kiss on his cheek.

Harry wipes off his face with the back of his hand cackling. “You can finally take that stick out of your arse.”

Jeff flips him off before leaving the room with some excuse about needing to make a phone call. Harry seizes the opportunity he has alone to finally get out of his heated suit. The sweat is glistening off his skin, he can’t wait to go home and shower. 

Harry doesn’t know how he ended up here again. Okay he does. He got another email notification that Louis had posted another video while Harry was in heat. He doesn’t hesitate to press play once he’s settled in bed. He knows he’s supposed to be getting rest because he has to do the same thing all over again tomorrow night but he can’t. There’s too much adrenaline still pumping in Harry’s veins and he needs some sort of outlet.

It turns out to be a simple wanking video but it’s still so fucking hot. Louis is on his bed working his hand on himself making the most beautiful sounds and it doesn’t take much for Harry to be spilling all over his hand. At the end of the video Louis reminds his followers that they could send him requests and that sparks an idea.

After cleaning up, Harry clicks over to Louis’ inbox. With his bottom lip tucked between his teeth, Harry types his request. He knows the chances of Louis seeing his message let alone actually doing it are slim, but he throws caution to the wind and sends it anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting a playlist together for this fic. If anyone has any good song suggestions, let me know :)
> 
> Also, it looks like this fic will be 10 chapters long according to what I've got planned. But I can't control these assholes so you never know lol

The following day is the same as yesterday. Harry does loads better during soundcheck this time around. He can’t get himself to see Louis without wondering if he’d seen his message yet or not. It’s not like he’ll be able to know it’s Harry, but still.

The concert is just as amazing tonight. The crowd roars and Harry is on top of the world. Instead of running straight home, he accepts Niall’s invitation to go to a club in the city to celebrate a wonderful night. They’re escorted to the VIP area of the club and offered a bottle of champagne with glasses. Just as Harry is about to reach over to pop the bottle open, he catches sight of Liam and Zayn approaching them with Louis not far behind.

Harry’s cheeks heat up at the sight of him. His hair looks damp, like he just got out of the shower and he’s wearing tight jeans that define his thighs deliciously. He’s got a scooped neck shirt that brings out his eyes and shows off his collarbones. Harry swallows hard.

“Let’s get this champagne open.” He needs to drink something because Louis’ presence does something to Harry that he can’t describe.

They toast to a great start of the tour and empty their flutes in seconds. Liam and Zayn disappear onto the dance floor and Niall recognises someone in the crowd and gets pulled away, leaving Harry and Louis alone. Perfect.

Louis’ got his champagne glass resting on his knee with his leg crossed atop the other, staring at the people dancing before them. Harry can’t stop gazing at him and the way his hair swipes across his forehead or the way his lips curve when he smiles. Harry makes himself shift his gaze somewhere else, not wanting to get caught staring.

“So what do you think of the tour so far?”

Harry’s voice startles Louis and his head shifts toward Harry. “It’s been amazing. I’m not sure what I was expecting to be honest, but everything’s been great.”

Louis is smiling with his eyes crinkling at the corners. Harry hasn’t been on the receiving end of that and finds he always wants to be from now on.

“You’ve been great up there. It’s like you’ve been with us from the beginning.”

Harry can’t tell because of the darkness of the club, but he hopes he’s made Louis blush at least a little. Wanting to take advantage of Louis’ seemingly good mood, Harry bites the bullet.

“You want to dance?”

Louis’ eyes widen at first, but then he quirks a brow. “You won’t go off running again? I sprayed plenty of neutralizer this time.” His tone is teasing.

Harry laughs. “I promise I won’t.” He stretches out his hand and Louis doesn’t hesitate to accept it.

~*~

It’s been three songs and Harry hasn’t run away like his arse was on fire like last time. They’re having a good time and genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

Harry’s face is soft and Louis keeps catching him staring, but he says nothing. He doesn’t know what to say, really. Louis never imagined he’d be on tour with Harry let alone dancing with him in the middle of a crowded dance floor. He’s surprised people haven’t come up to interrupt so they can get a glimpse of Harry.

“What are you thinking about?” Harry’s voice interrupts his thoughts.

Louis’ eyes trail up Harry’s face to meet his. “That I might have been wrong about you.”

The words surprise Louis, and by the way Harry’s eyes widen he isn’t the only one. They stop moving and again it’s like time stands still with the bodies around them still dancing while they’re in their own little world. Harry gets closer, so close the warmth of his body radiates against Louis. He opens his mouth about to say something when their bubble bursts.

“Harry?” A curvy woman with jet black hair and golden skin gets in between them and wraps her arms around Harry.

Harry stumbles at first, surprised but when recognition hits him he returns the hug. He smiles back, but it doesn’t reach his eyes as he glances at Louis.

“Sofia, hey.”

Sofia pulls back but doesn’t take her hands off Harry. “What brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be on tour?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just had a show tonight, actually. Came to celebrate.”

Sofia touches Harry’s hair and kisses him close to his lips. Louis doesn’t want to keep standing awkwardly, so instead he turns to find the bar. He can’t believe he thought he might be wrong about Harry. His cheeks flush in frustration and embarrassment, he should have known better.

When he gets to the bar he orders a shot of tequila and downs it in a flash before asking for another. He needs to be more drunk for this. He’s relieved to find Zayn and Liam at their VIP section and sits next to his best friend.

“You okay?” Zayn asks because he always notices when there’s something off with Louis.

“I’m fine. Just tired. Might head home soon.”

Zayn squeezes his knee but says nothing else. He calls it a night once he drains the rest of his drink, saying his farewells to Niall, Liam, and Zayn. Harry isn’t at the booth and Louis will not bother looking for him. Besides, he’s probably occupied with Sofia somewhere.

When Louis arrives at his flat, he’s too keyed up to go to sleep so he checks his emails and social media accounts. The tour heads to Glasgow in two days which gives him plenty of time to post a video though he has no great ideas of what to film. He logs into his account to see if his followers have sent anything that could spark something.

Some suggestions in Louis’ inbox are things he’s already done, a few are quite disturbing and things he’d never do. There’s one that catches his eye as he reads it and a smirk appears on his face. Esnyomega is about to get what he wants.

~*~

Even though Harry has two days in between shows, it doesn’t mean he’s got any time to himself. There is a slew of interviews he has lined up the day after his London show. One after the other for almost twelve hours Harry is talking about the same thing repeatedly. In between interviews he stands and walks around to keep his arse from going numb having to sit for long periods at a time.

Harry gets some reprieve during lunch time but he doesn’t even get to enjoy that because he’s got emails, he has to reply to. He’s a little disappointed when he sees there aren’t any updates from Louis. There’s still a hint of disappointment from last night when he and Louis were dancing and then he just vanished. Sofia, his supposed ex fling had interrupted them. In reality they’re good friends and she likes to play things up when they’re in a public setting to make people talk. It’s a little annoying, but it is what it is. When he’d returned to their booth Louis was gone, and the lads had told him he went home. It tempted Harry to ask Zayn for his phone number so he could text him but he thought better of it. He didn’t want to bother Louis if he already happened to be asleep.

Harry hasn’t stopped thinking about the last thing Louis said to him.

 _I_ _might_ _have been_ _wrong_ _about you._

Harry has so many questions. What did Louis think about him? Why did Louis seem to dislike him from the moment they met? It’s something he’s always asked himself, but never had the nerve to ask. It might be what the papers say about him, but wouldn’t Louis know it’s all made up?

Harry’s thoughts get interrupted by the person that’s interviewing, he’d spaced out and he apologises before the interview continues.

Once he’s back in the safety of his flat and after his much needed shower, Harry makes sure everything he needs is packed. Everything is ready to go for Glasgow.

Harry lays in bed with his laptop while the tv plays in the background. He hasn’t checked emails since lunch and he’s now got even more piled up in his inbox. Harry spends time responding, and it’s when he’s just finished replying to one email that he sees the notification.

There’s a new video update from Louis.

Harry’s cock twitches and arousal twists in his gut just seeing the subject of the email. God, he’s got it real bad for Louis and the tour has barely begun. He makes himself wait until he’s done everything he has to do, not wanting any distractions or worries hanging over his head while he enjoys the video. When he finishes up the last email, Harry jumps off the bed to find his lube and favorite plug. He craves to be filled while he wanks tonight, wanting to imagine that Louis is here with him, taking care of him. Just the thought of it gives him chills and only makes him more excited for what’s coming. Pun intended.

After taking off his underwear, Harry works meticulously on opening himself up with his fingers and carefully inserting the plug in his arse. He needs a moment to adjust, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath so he doesn’t come on the spot. It’s been a while since he’s been full like this and it’s always an overwhelming experience for him. When he’s with an alpha it’s even more intense, but that hasn’t happened in ages.

Harry wipes the excess lube off his fingers and settles back on the bed with his laptop. He clicks on the link that leads to Louis’ page, his heart rate picking up as he logs in and the page loads. The thumbnail and title chosen for the video makes Harry’s heart stop.

“Oh my God.”

Louis chose his video suggestion.

“Oh my God.”

It’s right there before his eyes. He hasn’t even hit play yet, but he already knows what it will contain.

“Holy Fuck.”

This isn’t happening, this can’t be real. There’s only one way to find out, so after calming down and making sure he doesn’t suffer a stroke before he gets to watch Louis’ video he hits play and maximises it to full-screen mode.

“Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well.” Louis is shirtless, showing off his delectable collarbones and Harry wishes he could nibble into. “I’ve got some free time, so I thought I’d post a video. I hope you guys like it! Don’t stop sending requests, either.”

Louis smirks and looks at the camera. “Esnyomega, this video is for you.” Louis winks and Harry is going to die. Louis may not know he’s esnyomega, but it still feels like he’s talking directly to Harry and his breath stutters. Louis’ gorgeous face takes up most of the screen and Harry can’t help but run a finger on the screen where Louis’ cheek is. His face is flawless, eyes a clear blue that look so pretty up close.

The video switches to a shot of Louis on his bed. His chest rises and falls and he runs a hand down his chest. Louis turns to the camera, biting his bottom lip before running his tongue across it. Harry swallows hard.

“Mmm baby, look at you so hard and wet for me, your alpha,” Louis begins. Harry whimpers as soon as Louis’ raspy alpha voice resonates in his ears. He closes his eyes and imagines Louis is here with him, whispering into his ear.

“Are you going to let me lick that pretty hole of yours?”

“Yes,” Harry whispers instinctively.

“Mmm, you taste so good. My sweet omega.” There’s a wet slick sound but Harry doesn’t bother opening his eyes to see what it is, being too entranced by Louis’ voice.

Harry begins to stroke his cock, the plug pulsing in his arse as he does.

“You want me to open you up and get ready to take my big fat alpha cock? I bet you can take it so well, too.” Louis continues.

“Fuck, yeah.” Harry’s hand speeds up. He pictures Louis working his fingers into his arse, filling him up and prepping him to take his alpha cock. It’s all Harry wants.

“Look how good your arse takes my fingers, love. You’re so perfect, my pretty omega.”

When those words slip out of Louis’ mouth, Harry is shouting as he comes harder than he’s come in a long time. He opens his eyes, his vision blurry from the tears he’s collected while he wanked. Louis is on the screen fucking an omega fleshlight while dirty words continue to spill out of his mouth.

“Mmm that’s it baby, take my knot.” Louis groans as he yelps and lets his knot swell into the sex toy when he comes.

As Harry comes down from his high, his mind wanders to thoughts of Louis. About what it would be like to be open to the world. What would Louis think? Would Harry’s scent drive him as mad as Louis’ does to him? Would his opinion of Harry change?

After putting his laptop away and cleaning up, Harry settles into his bed and his thoughts continue to keep him up. For the first time in years he doesn’t think coming out as an omega would be the worst thing in the world.

Or maybe his orgasm satiated brain is fucking with him.

  


~*~

The tour continues around the UK with stops in Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. Every show is special in its own way, the crowds are as amazing as ever giving their entire group that boost to put on the best show they can.

Louis keeps his distance from Harry. They interact on stage at times, but they don’t see each other outside of shows. Louis either goes back to his hotel room to film another video or spends his time hanging out with Zayn and sometimes Liam too. He’s not interested in getting to know Harry, Louis is just there to do a job and not make friends. Though he has gotten closer to his other band mates, but that isn’t the point.

After their last show in the UK, everyone is full of adrenaline when they leave the stage.

“Let’s all go out!” Harry proposes. Everyone agrees, seeming excited to celebrate a good set of shows. Harry meets Louis’ gaze. “What do you say Louis? Are you going to join us?”

Harry’s eyes look hopeful. Louis would feel bad, but he doesn’t. Harry’s been trying to get him to hang out, but Louis has turned him down multiple times coming up with excuses.

“Not tonight, but thanks for the invitation.” Louis doesn’t miss the way Harry’s smile fades, and he excuses himself before he feels guilty about it.

Other than that time at the club where Sofia came up to them, Louis hasn’t seen Harry with any omegas. None of his flings have been hanging out backstage, in fact he’s noticed that Harry is usually with Niall or hanging out with the other band mates. In Manchester Harry had his family at the show and he was very hospitable and kind. Louis isn’t sure what to make of it. He knows the things said in the tabloids are often exaggerated or misconstrued, but they have to have some truth to them, don’t they?

Whatever the case may be, Louis doesn’t want to be a part of it.

Their next show takes place in Dublin and Niall has been talking about how excited he is to be going to his homeland. He invites them to his mum’s home in Mullingar for lunch. That’s an offer Louis can’t refuse even if it means having to hang out with Harry Styles.

Niall rents a minivan and drives them to his mum’s house. It’s a quaint little home that reminds him a lot of the one he grew up in. They’re all welcomed with warm hugs by Niall’s mum, Maura. Harry is the last one to greet her as he hugs her and kisses her on the cheek.

“Harry, darling! How are you?”

“I’m doing amazing. How are you?” They walk into the home and Harry’s got his arm around Maura as they talk and catch up like they’re long-lost friends.

“Please, make yourselves at home. The kettle’s ready if anyone would like tea.”

Maura disappears into the kitchen as they all sit around the dining room table and Harry follows her. There are mugs, biscuits and snacks already laid out for them and whatever she’s got cooking smells heavenly. Maura comes back with the kettle and Harry’s got the tea so they can prepare their own. They update Maura on the tour and she tells them how excited she is to be at tomorrow’s Dublin show.

“The roast should be ready, let me go check.” Maura excuses herself.

“I’ll help you,” Harry offers joining her.

Harry and Maura bring out the food when it’s ready and Louis’ stomach grumbles. Maura has prepared a Sunday roast with all the fixings and it’s like Louis is being transported back to his mum’s home. It’s been a long time since he’s had a home cooked meal so he’s ecstatic.

“Maura your roast is delicious. Thank you for having us.” Harry praises when they finish up.

Maura waves him off. “You are always welcome here. I’m more than happy to cook whatever you’d like.”

After helping their host clean up, the group says their farewells. Niall will stay with his mum tonight so Liam drives them back to the hotel. It’s still afternoon when they arrive so Louis goes for a nap.

Louis didn’t set an alarm so by the time his body wakes up it’s way past dinner time. A few missed texts from Zayn await him, asking him if he wants to join him and Liam for dinner. By now they’ve probably long gone to dinner and the reply from Zayn confirms his suspicions. With a sigh, he gets out of bed, takes a shower and changes into something nice to go out. He goes for his black skinny jeans and Skate Tough tank under a denim jacket and he fixes his hair in a quiff that brings out his cheekbones. It’s been ages since he’s gone out to pull and isn’t something Louis will rule out tonight. If it happens it happens.

Before heading out the door, Louis makes sure he has his keycard, phone, and wallet. He almost forgets to spray his favourite aftershave, but he remembers just as he’s about to leave. The lift doesn’t take long to arrive, and it’s empty when Louis steps inside. Louis checks the time and sees it’s almost 21:00. When the lift arrives at the lobby, it’s also rather empty with just a couple of people at the front desk checking in. As Louis locks his phone it slips out of his hands, falling to the ground face down.

“Shit.” he murmurs, bending down to grab it. When he comes back up, he’s met with a familiar set of green eyes.

Harry stands in front of him with his hands in his velvet jacket and he’s looking at Louis like he fears him.

“Hey Louis. Heading in or out?” His voice shakes but he clears his throat.

“Hey Harry. I’m going out to grab a bite. You turning in for the night?” Louis doesn’t want to be an arsehole and ignore the guy on his way out.

Harry’s features relax now that Louis is talking to him and a smile forms on his lips.

“Not quite. I was also going to get something to eat. I fell asleep and missed dinner.”

 _Please don’t ask to join_ _,_ _please don’t ask to join_ _._

Harry’s eyes trail down Louis’ body before coming back up. “Why don’t you join me? I know a great place.”

Fuck. Louis doesn’t have an excuse this time because Harry knows he’s getting food alone. Any lie Louis tries to make up will be obvious, so he shouldn’t even try.

Louis bounces on the balls of his feet, biting his lip to keep from groaning. “Sure. Lead the way.”

~*~  
  


This is it. This is the moment Harry’s been waiting for. He wants to send a kiss to the universe for creating this perfect opportunity for him.

Harry had woken up from his nap after visiting Niall’s mum with a growling stomach. Liam had already gone to dinner with Zayn and Niall was still in Mullingar leaving Harry to his own devices for dinner. After getting ready, he took the stairs down to the lobby, too impatient to wait for the lift. Lo-and-behold he’s met with a perfect real life view of Louis’ arse as he bent down to pick up his phone. And even better, Louis was also going to dinner alone which left him with no choice but to accept Harry’s invitation to join him.

Louis looks amazing, wearing the tightest jeans Harry’s seen on him and having his hair so neatly done, his cheekbones could cut glass. It’s almost as if Louis was going on a date, but if he was wouldn’t he have turned down Harry’s invitation?

They get into the vehicle they’d rented earlier. Harry called the restaurant ahead of time to make sure there was a private area set up for him. He’s normally able to go to certain places without disturbances but he didn’t want to take his chances. There’s a show tomorrow, and he’s sure there are many fans lingering around the city which is why Harry’s bodyguard will follow closely behind them.

The ride to the restaurant is quiet. Louis’ scent is filling Harry’s senses, and it’s taking everything he’s got to keep his body from reacting. Louis was not planning on spending dinner with Harry so he sprayed no neutralizer. To make matters worse, Harry can’t stop replaying Louis’ words in his head. The way his alpha voice resonated, just thinking about it makes it difficult for Harry not to get hard.

Harry is also afraid to say the wrong thing so instead he stays quiet. Louis seems uninterested, and he’s just staring out the window tapping his fingers against his thighs. It’s distracting and Harry has to focus on the road ahead of them. Eventually Harry just turns on the radio to have some sort of noise in the car.

“I like this song,” Harry comments when The Script’s latest single comes on.

“You like The Script?” Louis asks. And holy crap. Louis is talking to him willingly. _Don’t screw this up,_ he tells himself.

Harry looks over at Louis for a brief second, nodding. “Love them. My first concert ever was seeing them in Manchester back in 2009.”

Louis makes a sound between a gasp and a cough. “2009? At the O2 Apollo?”

“Yeah.” Harry’s eyebrows furrow curious why Louis sounds surprised.

Louis chuckles. “I was at that show as well. It wasn’t my first concert, but it was my first of many times seeing them live.”

“No fucking way.” Harry is laughing with Louis as they park by the restaurant. When Harry looks over at Louis, he’s smiling so wide his eyes are crinkling at the corners. Harry needs to find more ways to keep making Louis smile like this.

That seems to break whatever tension there seemed to be between them since they crossed paths in the hotel lobby. They walk into the restaurant together and Harry greets the hostess before they’re seated at their private table.

Most of their dinner conversation ends up being about music. It begins with the different concerts they’ve attended, realising that they’ve also both been to Leeds Festival the same year. That leads to talking about their favorite artists and music.

“I will never tire of listening to The Dark Side of the Moon. It’s my go to album for pretty much anything. If I’m having a bad day or if I’m going through writer’s block and need inspiration. It’s never failed me.” Harry is a rambling mess, but he doesn’t care. When it comes to music, he can talk about it all day every day.

“What about you, Louis? What’s your go to album?” Harry rests his chin on his hands waiting for Louis to answer.

Louis’ lips form the cutest pout as he ponders. “It’s hard to choose just one, but if I _had_ to choose, I think it would be Green Day’s Dookie. It’s the album I grew up to and it will always be my go to album.”

By the time the waiter comes to ask if they want dessert they’re both buzzed from the bottle of wine they ordered. They’re giggling and in the middle of a debate about what songs are better than others.

“You’re mad if you think Backstreet Boys’ ‘The Call’ is inferior to NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’.” Harry argues.

Louis scoffs. “I don’t know if I can continue this tour with you and your very wrong opinions,” he teases.

“Well, at least we both agree that Britney Spears rules over Christina Aguilera.”

Louis nods. “That one was a deal breaker for me, so you’re lucky.”

They both laugh again and Harry drains out the rest of his wine from the glass.

When the waiter brings the check, Harry insists on paying. Louis tries to fight it but relents.

“Did you have other plans after dinner?” Harry can’t help but ask since he’s been dying to know as soon as he laid eyes on Louis and how gorgeous he looks.

Louis looks down at his feet as they’re walking outside. Since they’ve both been drinking Cesar, Harry’s bodyguard, will drive them back.

“I did. There’s a club close to the hotel I was going to check out. You’re free to join me if you’d like?” Louis offers.

Harry can’t tell if Louis wants him to come or if he’s just offering out of pity. Either way, Harry can’t. With the way Louis is dressed he’s almost positive he was planning on meeting someone at the club. Something about that just doesn’t settle well with Harry and he doesn’t want to be there to witness people being all over Louis.

Harry clears his throat as the wind picks up sending Louis’ delicious scent straight to his nostrils. They flare a little, but with the darkness outside, Harry hopes Louis doesn’t notice.

“Thanks for inviting me, but I think I’m going back to my room. Have fun though.”

Louis grins, nodding his head. “Thanks.”

Cesar drops Louis off at the club and as he’s getting ready to climb out of the car, he looks over his shoulder at Harry. “Have a good night Harry.” He’s gone before Harry can say anything in return.

Louis’ sweet scent lingers in the vehicle and now that it’s just Harry and Cesar he doesn’t hold back. Harry inhales deeply, getting as much of the cinnamon honey scent into his senses before letting out an exhale. When they arrive to the hotel he’s so hard Harry has to take off his jacket and carry it in front of his crotch.

If he ends up going to his hotel room to wank to Louis’ video dedicated to esnyomega, no one has to know.


	6. Chapter 6

Liam is the first person Harry sees when he wakes up the morning of his Dublin show. He’s sitting on his bed with a hand on Harry’s forehead and a concerned face.

“What’s going on?” 

“You’ve got a fever.” The worried tone in Liam’s voice makes Harry uneasy.

“I’m fine.” Harry insists.

Liam sighs. “You may  feel fine but it’s only a matter of time before you go into another early heat. What were you up to last night?”

Harry’s thoughts get distracted by the memories of his dinner with Louis the night before. He  hasn’t laughed that much in so long and hopes he and Louis continue to be friendly with each other.

“Nothing. I  just  had dinner and came back to the hotel.” 

“Alone?”

Harry’s eyes drop to the duvet. “With Louis,” he murmurs.

Liam’s eyebrow s rise when Harry looks back at him. “And was he wearing his neutralizer?”

Harry shakes his head. “Don’t  think so. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. He wasn’t planning on having dinner with me when we ran into each other in the lobby.”

Liam runs a hand across his face. “Fuck, okay. I’ll be back, I need to get my medical bag.  _ Don’t _ open the door for anyone. I have a key.”

“Yes, Dad.” Harry deadpans. Liam slaps him on the arm before leaving the room, making sure it’s locked.

Harry falls back on the bed and groans. “Fuck!”

Stupid hormones who can’t get their shit together around Louis. He can’t go into heat now. There’s no way they can cancel the show and postponing it would look bad on Harry. He hopes Liam’s got a plan because Harry doesn’t  know what he’ll do if he can’t go on tonight. Doesn’t even want to  think about what they’ll tell people either.

Harry must have fallen back asleep because Liam is nudging him awake when he’s returned. 

“Get up, Haz. I’ll try that accelerant again. I’ve read it can prevent a heat from advancing if you’re still in the fever stage. Have you got any slick yet?”

Harry pushes a hand into his pants to see if there are any signs of slick. “Not yet.”

Liam nods. “Okay good. Let’s get this in you then.”

He prepares the syringe and this one can go in his arm instead of his arse. 

“There we go,” Liam places a plaster on his arm. “I’ll monitor you for a few hours to make sure it worked. It’ s safe to say you won’t be able to make it to  soundcheck .”

“Great.” 

Liam has room service delivered to Harry and makes him eat. When Niall arrives, Liam steps out to tell the band Harry won’t be joining them for  soundcheck . They’d agreed they would tell them Harry had a mild fever and the doctor that came to see him suggested bed rest until the show. It’s not a lie,  for the most part . Liam checks on him every hour, and Harry’s fever comes down around late afternoon.

“Thank God,” Harry sighs, a huge weight lifting off his shoulders. Liam gives Harry his suppressants and things get back to normal.

The show in Dublin is a smashing success. Backstage he and Louis hang with the rest of the group. For the first time in a while Louis stays after a show instead of running off to his hotel. They hit up a pub and make the most of the rest of their stay in Ireland. Harry catches Louis staring at him a few times, but doesn’t mention it. He’d kill to  know what Louis  thinks about, but he knows getting into his good graces is a slow and steady race and Harry needs to  be patient .

After Dublin everyone has a few days off before they fly to Australia. Harry arrives earlier than his band because he’s got promotional events and interviews lined up during his stay. He attends the Arias and they hire  an omega supermodel from Sydney as his date to continue to keep up appearances. It’s the only time he stunts during his trip, but it doesn’t stop the tabloids from talking about Harry’s new conquest.

When Harry gets word the rest of the band and crew have arrived, he makes plans for them to go out for dinner that evening. Wanting to personally extend the invitation — and to have an excuse to see and talk to him — Harry wanders to Louis’ room. He stands in front of the door for a moment to gather the courage and to keep his hormones and thoughts in check before knocking.

When Louis opens the door, there’s no reaction not even a smile on his face.

“Hey Louis.”

“What do you want, Harry?” He sounds annoyed and like Harry is the last person he wants to see. It catches Harry off guard and he takes a minute to remember what he’d come here to do.

“Um, sorry to bother you. I wanted to tell you we’re all going out to dinner around 20:00, if you’d like to come?” Harry doesn’t mean for his voice to sound so high and full of hope when Louis  obviously  doesn’t seem to want to see him right now.

What could he have done to cause Louis to react this way? Last time they saw each other, they’d gotten on well. They couldn’t stop teasing each other and joking around. Harry  is truly baffled .

“No thanks. I’d rather not.” Louis slams the door in Harry’s face before giving him a chance to say anything else. 

Harry scrunches his eyebrows, staring at the door like it’s the one that offended him. He’s tiring of this hot and cold attitude from Louis. For a moment he wants to give up and not try to be his friend anymore. He’s about to turn around and do just that but then he stops.

No, fuck that. Harry deserves  an explanation from Louis and why he seems to have a problem with him. If it’s something Harry said or did, that made him upset, he has a right to  know so he can rectify the situation. With renewed confidence Harry turns back around, making himself a little dizzy from the all circling and bangs on the door.

“WHAT?” Louis shouts opening the door.

Harry flinches, not expecting that reaction, but he recovers and marches into the room despite Louis’ protests.

“Get out of my room, Harry.”

Harry crosses his arms. “No. I’ve had enough, Louis!”

Now Louis seems to be the one not expecting Harry’s outburst. He steps back and sits on the bed.

“What are you on about?”

“I’m sick and tired of you acting like you hate me one moment, then being nice and making me believe things are okay before you pull the rug right under me and go back to hating me.  What have I done to you to make you hate me? From the moment I first saw you it’s been like this and I never understood why. And as hard as I’ve tried to get you to like me and be friendly, you go back to acting cross toward me.” Harry hopes his rambling makes sense, but he’s willing to keep explaining until Louis tells him. He won’t leave without resolving this.

Louis stays silent, his eyes finding the floor more interesting than Harry. He seems lost in  thought ,  maybe trying to get his thoughts in order, who knows what goes on in that man’s brain.

Louis gazes at Harry and  lets out a deep sigh. “I don’t like alphas who take advantage of their power to sleep with omegas and then throw them away like yesterday’s rubbish. Every time I  think I’m wrong you do it again and I don’t want to befriend someone like that.”

For a brief second Harry  is tempted to tell Louis the truth, but he needs to gain his trust before he considers doing that. 

“Has it ever occurred to you that  maybe those stories might not be true? Have you even  thought to ask me about it? Because I could have told you it’s all made up. That it’s part of my team’s plan to promote me and keep my name in the papers. Instead you make these assumptions about me when I’ve shown you the opposite of  what they say about me.”

Harry shakes his head, disappointed. “You  know what Louis. Fuck this. I’m tired of trying to get you to like me.  As far as I’m concerned you ’re just an employee and nothing more.”

Harry walks out of Louis’ room before anything else  is said . His throat is tight and tears threaten to slip out of his eyes, but he holds them in. Never has he been this affected by what someone  thinks of him. He’s never cared.  Having Niall and Liam in his life has always been more than enough for Harry. There’s something about Louis that caught his attention from the beginning. Something more than just his good looks and amazing scent. But now Harry doesn’t want to bother trying to figure out what it is. 

~*~

Louis is an arse.

Harry didn’t deserve the way Louis treated him and now he’s in his room trying to figure out how to fix things. He doesn’t go to the dinner with the crew and Harry, knowing he’s the last person he wants to see right now. Instead, he orders room service and watches tv while he  thinks about what to do.

There was always a part of Louis that thought it all might be a lie. He should have given Harry the benefit of the doubt, but he let his stubbornness get the best of him.  He can’t stop replaying Harry’s words to him.

_ As far as I’m concerned you _ _ ’re just an employee and nothing more. _

Louis wants to be more than Harry’s employee. The times that Louis gave Harry a chance he turned out to be a great person with the potential to be an amazing friend. He can’t explain what he  felt when he saw that article about Harry and that Australian model at the Arias. It was an unpleasant twist in his stomach that made him lose faith in Harry’s ability to be a decent person. 

But he was wrong. So, so wrong.

Louis lies in bed staring at the ceiling. He looks over to check the time and everyone should be back from dinner. Louis sends Zayn a text to confirm his suspicions. Louis rolls out of bed and leaves his room when an idea pops into his head.

  
  


With a pricey six pack of Australia’s finest beer in his arm, Louis knocks on Harry’s hotel room door. Niall assured him Harry was in his room when Louis texted him with a random excuse when he was at the shops. Now he waits  patiently  for Harry to open the door, hoping he doesn’t refuse to when he sees Louis on the other side.

Harry appears in the doorway with sad eyes.

“What is it, Louis?” He sounds resigned and Louis’ guilt intensifies.

Louis lifts the six pack of beer. “I’d like to extend an olive branch in the form of beer, if you’ll let me?” He smiles at Harry hoping to convey that he comes to  apologise .

Harry’s face softens  immediately, and he nods, letting Louis walk in.

Harry’s room is twice as big as Louis’, as he expects for a famous popstar. He’s got his own dining area and a lounge with a massive flat screen tv. Louis settles on the couch placing the beer on the coffee table. Harry joins him and Louis hands him a bottle.

“I’m sorry for being a twat.” Louis breaks the silence. He uncaps his bottle and takes a hefty swig. “I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. I’ve just seen so many alphas do that to other omegas and I  thought you were just like them. But I was wrong and I  apologise for  being so rude to you.”

Harry grins showing off his dimples and Louis relaxes. From now on he vows to only make him smile like this and nothing less.

“I accept your apology,” Harry raises his bottle. “And thank you for the beer, it’s good.” With the clink of their bottles they put the past behind them and move forward.

They watch an episode of some Australian tv show they’ve never heard of, but by the end of it they’re distracted by their conversation. Louis wants to make up for the time he spent hating Harry to find out everything he can about him. Harry seems more than willing to answer his questions, from where he grew up to his most embarrassing moment as a famous person.

“What’s with the word ‘famous’ anyway? ” Harry asks. By now they’ve gone through all the beers and have started on the wine in Harry’s mini fridge. Harry takes a swig from the bottle before handing it to Louis. “People put so much meaning to that word when I’m just Harry. I like to make music and sing in front of people. Why do we have to jump through all these hoops to get to do what we love? I don’t get it.”

Louis giggles at Harry’s rant and plays with the curls on his head. At one point Harry’s head ended up on Louis’ lap while Harry poked at Louis’ face.

“ I ’m not sure.  I love making music too.  I was in a band right before I met you, you  know ? Our drummer quit and the rest of my friends didn’t want to keep being a band, so we broke up. Bunch of bollocks if you ask me.” Louis drinks and passes the bottle back to Harry.

“You were in a band?” Harry sits up to face him. “What kind of music did you play? Do you have any songs I can listen to?”

Louis laughs at Harry’s enthusiasm and he sets the near empty wine bottle on the table. 

“There are songs in my laptop.”

Harry stands, grabbing a hold of Louis and pulling him along. “Let’s go! I want to hear them!”

They rush out the door, Louis isn’t sure why since the songs aren’t going anywhere, but he follows Harry. 

“Shh…” Harry giggles as they somehow end up tiptoeing down the corridor to Louis’ room. It takes Louis a few tries to unlock his door with the key, but when he does, Harry shoves himself through the doorway. 

Louis’ drunken brain freaks out for a moment afraid he might have left his camera out lying around, but he finds it’s not and should be stashed in his bag. 

“Sit.” Louis takes Harry by the shoulders and sits him on the bed so he can grab his laptop.

Louis joins Harry on the bed as he powers up his computer.  He must make sure Harry doesn’t snoop around in his files unless he wants to find Louis’ compromising videos. Louis doesn’t  know what he’d do if Harry found out about the camming. He’s not embarrassed or trying to hide it, but it’s also not something he announces to everyone he knows. When his friends find out, he’s a cam boy Louis just shrugs it off and moves the conversation along. 

When the home screen appears, Louis opens his iTunes where he’s got the few songs he recorded with his band. They had done little with them, just had them around in case the opportunity came.

Louis hits play when the songs  are pulled up and he sits back against the headboard. Harry does too, leaning his head against Louis’ shoulder as they listen to each song. Louis doesn’t want to see Harry’s face, too nervous to do so. What if he doesn’t like them? 

“This is  you singing?” Harry asks about halfway through the first song.

Louis nods, meeting Harry’s stare. Harry’s got a blissful look on his face and he’s not sure if it’s from the alcohol, the music, or both. 

“I love your voice. It’s like the music you hear in heaven when the pearly gates part open.” 

Louis snorts and Harry shoots him an indignant look.

“I’m being serious,” he pouts. He shoves Louis and continues listening to the rest of the songs.

When the last song ends, Harry’s dimpled grin is back. “I loved it.”

“You’re just saying that,” Louis says.

Harry grabs Louis’ face and pulls him close until their eyes meet. “Lou, your songs are amazing. Learn to take a compliment for God’s sakes.”

Their faces are so close Harry breath is warm against his lips. For a split second when Harry’s eyes trail down to Louis’ lips he thinks they might kiss.  But then Harry lets him go and Louis shakes himself out of whatever daze he fell into.

“Thank you.” he says, clearing his throat.

“You’re welcome. We should work on something together. I’m always writing music during my down time on  tour . Join me sometime.”

“Sure.” Louis agrees knowing it  probably  won’t happen since  Harry is sloshed and will most likely forget their conversation. 

  
  


The next morning Louis meets Zayn for breakfast with a dull headache. 

“Good Morning,” Louis all but groans when he sits in his chair.

Zayn takes in Louis’ appearance and chuckles. “Why are you wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day, Louis?”

Louis chugs on his glass of water before answering. “Drinking with Harry last night. He outrank me, I bet he’s in worse shape.”

Zayn raises his eyebrows. “Harry? Since when do you and Harry drink together?”

Louis shrugs. “Since last night apparently .”

They order their food while Louis fills Zayn in on his situation with Harry from the beginning to the events from last night. He also mentions Harry’s comment about working on music together.

“Louis that’s great!  Working on music with Harry is one more step in the right direction.”

Louis takes a sip of his tea. “Sure, but that’s not why I’d do it. Besides, he was  completely  sloshed, who knows if he even remembers what he offered.”

Zayn nods along and Louis decides that they’ve been talking enough about him, so he changes the subject and asks Zayn about Liam.

After breakfast, Louis goes back to his room to sleep off the rest of his hangover. The next show isn’t until tomorrow night as their bodies continue adjusting to the new time zone. A knock at Louis’ door wakes him. When he checks the time he sees it’s nearly noon. Louis rolls out of bed to open the door.

Harry is on the other side looking soft in a torn up Rolling Stones t-shirt and  grey joggers. There doesn’t seem to be any traces of a hangover on his face which makes him want to glare at him.

“Hey Lou. I’m sorry did I wake you?” Worry fills Harry’s eyes but Louis waves him off.

“It’s all right. I was about to get out of bed, anyway.” He moves out of Harry’s way to let him in. Harry’s got a brown leather-bound journal and his cellphone in his hands.

He makes himself comfortable, falling face down on Louis’ bed and resting his head on his hands.

“What’s up?” Louis asks, sitting on the chair across from Harry.

Harry uses one of his hands to play with a stray thread on the duvet beneath him while he talks. “I was just  wondering I’ve got  some  time off today and wanted to see if you wanted to work on some music together.”

When Harry’s eyes meet Louis’ he seems nervous, like Louis will bite his head off for asking. 

“I figured since we were talking about it last night…” Harry continues after Louis remains silent.

Louis clears his throat and focuses on Harry’s words. “Um, yeah. Sorry. I didn’t  think you’d remember.”

“ Of course I remember, Lou. As soon as I went back to my room last night I went through the songs, I have in my journal.  Today is a good day to get things started and see where it leads, you  know ?” Harry places his hand on the journal as if it will float away.

“Then yeah. I’d love to work on something. Even if we  just  throw lyrics back and forth or  summat . I’m up for it.”

Louis’ words bring a dimpled grin to Harry’s face. “Great. Let’s do it.”

Louis excuses himself to go to the loo to spray  some  neutralizer knowing he will be spending an unknown amount of time close to Harry. They move things to Harry’s room, Louis bringing his laptop and guitar with him. Harry orders lunch from room service insisting they’re in need of some “brain food” before they begin.

They end up getting caught up in a rerun marathon of The Block. Nothing ends up getting done because they can’t seem to stop watching the reality show. Louis can’t complain though because he enjoys Harry’s company either way.

  
  


Harry and Louis don’t get around to working on songwriting until they’re in Japan. They’re scheduled to be there for a week with three shows and album promo for Harry. The group goes sight seeing their first full day  there, with Harry insisting they go to the cat cafe. The group splits up when a few of them turn out to be allergic to  cats and somehow Harry and Louis end up being the only ones going. 

They sit and play with the  cats while they wait for their drink orders. 

“You  know one of the first songs I ever wrote was about my cat Dusty.” Harry says while rubbing the belly of an orange tabby cat as he flashes a dimpled grin.

Louis snorts the tea he’s  in the midst of swallowing making them both cackle.

“I wonder why that never made it to the top 40,” Louis deadpans.

Harry throws a piece of biscuit at him which he dodges, and the Siamese cat resting on his lap eyes it  curiously  before nibbling it.

“When I retire I will rescue as many  cats as possible and build them their own little home in my garden.” Harry nuzzles into the cutest American shorthair.

Louis’ heart warms at the sight of Harry  fonding over the  cats around them and the way he talks about rescuing  cats . 

“That sounds wonderful.”

Harry looks up at Louis with a smile. “You like  cats , Louis?”

Louis takes a biscuit and bites it, chewing slowly . He hums, “ Cats are cute, but I’m more of a dog person.”

Harry gasps dramatically , covering the ears of the cat on his lap. “Shh! Don’t let them hear that!”

Louis rolls his eyes and continues eating his biscuit, unbothered. 

After they’ve had their fill of tea, biscuits and cat cuddles, they pay and leave the cafe. Harry says goodbye to each cat, promising to come by before he leaves the country.  He walks away with a cute pout on his lips and Louis pats his back  gently  to comfort him.

They continue walking around the city. The sun has set and Tokyo at night is fucking beautiful. They keep stopping to admire buildings or to visit shops. Harry and Louis purchase souvenirs for their friends and family. They  eventually  decide that they’re too tired to keep walking, deciding to go back to Harry’s hotel room and have room service for dinner.

When they get to the  hotel they go their separate ways, agreeing to meet whenever Louis is ready. Louis goes back to his room, placing his shopping bags aside and lying on the bed for a moment as he reflects on his day. It’s been exhausting but so good getting to explore a country he’s never been in and might not get to come to again. His thoughts drift to Harry and how happy he was throughout the day. There was a  sort of  spark in his eyes, one that was lacking when Louis first met him. He isn’t sure what the spark is from, but Louis hopes it doesn’t go away. 

Louis forces himself to get out of bed to take a quick shower before meeting with Harry in his room. He brings his laptop and guitar just as he’s been doing anytime he and Harry have down time. They haven’t gotten around to the songwriting, but if inspiration were to strike them, he wants to  be prepared .

When Louis arrives at Harry’s room, he knocks but gets no response. He knocks harder this time when he hears Harry’s muffled voice.

“ Coming !”

Louis hears Harry’s voice before he sees him when he opens the door. “Sorry Lou, was just getting out of the shower,” Harry explains.

Sure enough, Harry’s hair is damp, but not only that. Louis’ eyes trail down his body. Harry’s wet and bare torso is showing his tattoos and all four of his nipples. A drop of water slides down his stomach and disappears beneath the towel that’s wrapped around his waist. Louis’ mouth goes dry, and he swallows before shifting his eyes back up.

Harry’s got a smug smile and Louis wants the hallway floor to swallow him whole, right now. Instead, he clears his throat and walks in without another word.

“I ordered  pizza , I hope that’s okay?” Harry breaks the silence after Louis sets his things aside and settles in one  of the chairs .

“Pizza’s fine,” Louis assures him.

Harry disappears into the bathroom again and returns  fully  clothed. Louis  isn’t disappointed in the slightest, he isn’t.

Harry’s an alpha. Louis  is aware of it if the scent neutralizer he sprays ten times a day is anything to go by. But Louis isn’t blind either. Harry is a beautiful man and Louis can’t help he  feels some attraction toward him,  especially  when they spend almost every down time together.  And it’s not that Louis is against alpha/alpha attraction or anything. He doesn’t want to make things weird between him and Harry. Louis doesn’t want to ruin their blooming friendship with whatever attraction seems to want to brew inside him. 

“Louis?” Harry’s voice shakes him out of his thoughts. 

Louis’ head snaps up. “Yeah?” 

Harry’s eyebrows furrow but they smooth over once he’s got Louis’ attention. He lifts a plate up. “How many slices would you like?”

It’s when they’re eating that Harry brings it up again. “So, I’ve had this melody stuck in my head all day. I need to get it out before it drives me mad.”

That’s how they get around to collaborating, holed up in Harry’s room writing music. Harry shows Louis the melody on Louis’ guitar, inspiring him as soon as Harry plays the last note. And so he pulls his laptop out and they get to work. 

Somehow they end up switching throughout the process, with Louis writing the music and Harry writing most of the lyrics. 

“Wow,” Louis breathes after Harry sings the chorus for the first time. “That’s…” 

Harry’s eyebrows pinch with worry and Louis wants to rectify that immediately . “It’s beautiful, Harry. It’s lovely but also contains a hint of melancholy. And it’s something all your fans can relate to and find it as a way to connect with you.”

Harry’s face brightens up at that. “You  think so?”

Louis nods and they keep up on their songwriting momentum. “Just Like You” ends up being the title to the song they finish just before the sun rises. 

Neither of them seem to  be tired though, quite the opposite. It’s like writing the song has given them a burst of energy and they don’t want to call it a night just yet.

Before they can even  do anything , there’s someone knocking on Harry’s door. It’s Niall. Who shifts his gaze between them before settling on  Harry.

“Harry we need to leave in half an hour. You’ve got that morning show, remember?”

Louis doesn’t miss the way Harry’s smile fades. “Right. I forgot that was today.” He turns to Louis. “Raincheck?”

“Sure.” Louis ignores the disappointment he feels. “Well, I’ll let you two to it. I’m going to try to get at least a few hours of sleep before I have to be up.”

When Louis walks out of Harry’s room he doesn’t like the way his chest tightens as the lift doors close shut.


	7. Chapter 7

If Harry came to Japan more often, he wouldn’t have an insane promotion schedule like he currently does. He's been going nonstop since before the sun came up sleep deprived. The sleep deprivation doesn't bother him as much though, because to Harry it’s worth it.

Harry and Louis had been talking about working on something together for weeks and last night they finally got inspired and worked nonstop. There’s a renewed energy when it comes to writing a song with Louis. He’s a perfectionist through and through and didn’t want to move on until each part was to his ultimate liking. Harry caught himself staring and admiring him -- the way he concentrated on the lyrics or strummed his guitar to get a note just right. It’s amazing to watch and only makes Harry want to work with him again.

It’s unknown what they’ll do with the song, but Harry knows Louis’ voice is ideal for it. He would give the music the justice that Harry wouldn’t be able to with his vocals.

As the day progresses Harry’s brain decides that it only wants to think about Louis and nothing else. He gets distracted more often than usual, earning a couple of glares from Niall. Harry can’t be blamed. Now that Harry is spending more time with Louis, getting to know him beyond his guitar and video cam abilities, he can’t get enough. He’s becoming consumed with Louis and everything he is and does. Harry can’t say he minds.

His mind drifts off to thoughts of a future where they could be together and Harry can be honest about who he is. He catches himself smiling like an idiot. The more he thinks about it, the less scary it seems.

Thinking about Louis all day leads to missing and longing for him. It’s like Harry’s missing a limb while he’s out and about getting interviewed and making radio appearances. He looks for Louis even though he isn’t there.

Harry’s in deep shit.

It’s dinner time when Harry returns to his hotel room. As soon as he crosses the threshold of his room, his eyelids weigh down, closing on their own. He's tempted to call Louis just so he can see him even for a few minutes, but decides better of it. He needs to catch up on a day’s worth of sleep and he's got show tomorrow. Deciding to forego food, he showers and burrows under the covers, not bothering with clothes.

  


A weight falls on Harry’s bed shaking him awake. He turns over, rubbing at his bleary eyes. Louis’ face comes to focus when he opens his eyes and he can’t help the smile that forms on his lips.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Louis sing songs.

Harry covers his face with the duvet groaning, “Go away.” He says it but doesn’t mean it one bit. A breeze sneaks its way inside the cocoon of the covers, and Harry realises that he’s naked. His face heats up as he sticks his head back out and notices that Louis has a takeaway container in his hands.

“What’s that?”

Louis lifts the container, flashing a self-satisfied smirk. “Breakfast. Niall was going to bring it, but I offered to do it. Didn’t think you’d appreciate his methods of waking you up.”

Harry chuckles, sitting against the headboard covering his private bits.

“Not really. Thanks.” He takes the container and opens the lid. The smell of his fry up hits his nostrils, making his mouth water. “Fuck, this is perfect. You’re the best.”

Louis settles next to him as Harry scarfs down his food.

“How did promo go yesterday?”

Harry takes a bite of his sausage. “Exhausting.”

Louis cringes. “Right. Sorry about that by the way.”

“For what? I don’t regret it at all. Sleeping would have been time wasted, and we got an amazing song out of it.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t sleep either. I had too much energy and ended up waking Zayn.”

Harry raises his eyebrows. “You woke Zayn up before noon? And you made it out alive?”

Louis laughs. “Hardly. He punched me in the crotch.”

Harry wrinkles his face. “Ouch.”

Louis continues to catch Harry up on his day with Zayn while he continues to eat the rest of his breakfast. Harry can’t help wonder if Louis used part of his free time yesterday to film a new video. He makes a mental reminder to check his email.

They go to soundcheck together and a part of Harry wishes that Louis might also want to spend as much time with him as possible. It’s unlikely, but a guy can dream.

Soundcheck goes without a hitch and before they know it they’re getting ready to hit the stage. Harry’s wearing a black velvet suit with silver stars on the fabric and he’s thrumming with excitement. Japan has always been one of his favourite places to perform and he loves that he gets to do it multiple times this week.

The show kicks off, and it comes like second nature to Harry at this point. There’s a thrill that Harry gets when he performs and tonight it’s more intense than ever. Harry is interacting with the crowd as much as he can despite the language barriers. He asked Clare for some phrases to say in Japanese, and when Harry puts them to use the audience loves it.

Harry looks over his shoulder at Louis who’s staring at him with a fond grin on his face. When Louis notices him looking, he shakes his head so Harry winks at him. Harry feels invincible on stage, like he can do anything.

So he does.

Harry starts small at first, testing the waters. When he dances around the stage, he’ll run towards Louis. The first time, he hip checks him while Louis is trying to focus on his guitar playing. Instead of being annoyed, Louis fucking grins, and it only urges Harry to see how much he can get away with. Towards the end of “Carolina” as he and Louis both play their parts on the guitar, Harry approaches Louis until they’re face to face. Harry leans in slowly, observing Louis as he strums the guitar. Louis is grinning, but not looking up until he plays the last note and when he does, Harry sticks his tongue out and licks Louis’ face from his jaw up to his ear. The crowd roars and both Harry and Louis are giggling messes. Harry sees a faint blush dusting Louis’ cheeks but he can’t dwell on it to find out because he has a show to put on.

Maybe Harry should have thought about it thoroughly when he decided to openly flirt on stage with Louis. During the last few songs on the set, Harry fights with his body to not get an erection. Midway through the show, Louis fought back and he bit Harry on his fucking neck. Like full blown latched his teeth to his neck. It happened so fast Harry didn’t realise what was happening until Louis had already pulled away and continued on as if nothing happened. And now, Harry’s trying not to get hard.

When the concert ends, Harry bolts out of there. He tells Niall to stay behind and grab his things before finding his driver to get to the hotel. Harry sends Liam a text letting him know where he’s gone and shuts off his phone. He leans his head against his seat and takes a deep breath.

The hotel isn’t far from the venue, and they make it there quickly. Harry thanks the driver and takes the lift to his room. The first thing he does is get his laptop to pull up one of Louis’ videos. He pulls up his favourite, the one Louis filmed just for him that he’s watched hundreds of times by now. He might have even downloaded the sound onto his phone to listen to it when he’s too lazy to get his computer. Harry strips naked, grabbing some lube before lying on the bed and pressing play on the video. He turns the volume down, so no one outside of his door can tell what he’s up to.

Harry watches Louis at first, but eventually his eyes close of their own volition. He begins with slow, even strokes not wanting to come too fast. If Harry can’t have Louis as his alpha, and the video is the only thing he can have, he will let his imagination run wild.

A bang on the door stops Harry’s movements. Harry reaches to the computer and slaps the space bar to pause the video. Fuck, it better not be Niall or Liam, he can’t let anyone see the state he’s in. He stands, already feeling slick dripping down his thighs, and huffs out a breath.

“Haz, are you there?” Harry’s heart pounds against his chest, ringing in his ears. That’s not Niall or Liam. That’s _Louis._

Harry tiptoes over to the door, thankful he’d used the latch so no one walked in on him. He places his eye against the peephole and sure enough, Louis in all of his post concert sweaty glory is on the other side with a concerned look on his face.

Louis bangs on the door again, startling Harry and right. He still has to respond. Harry clears his throat, summoning his acting skills, or lack thereof, to help him right now.

“Louis, don’t come in. I’m sick.” Harry coughs for good measure hoping he’s able to pull it off.

He goes back to the peephole to see Louis’ face. Louis’ eyebrows pinch together, worried.

“Do you need me to go to the shops and get some medicine or tell room service to get you some soup?”

Harry would find that sweet if he weren’t standing on the other side half hard with Louis’ cam video on pause.

“That’s unnecessary, Louis. I’ll be alright, I just need to sleep it off.”

There’s silence on the other side and when Harry takes a peek, he sees a pensive Louis. It seems like he’s trying to decide whether to believe Harry and let him be or force him to take meds until he’s better.

“Okay. Well, call me if you need anything.” Louis says, resigned.

“I will. Thank you.”

With that, he watches Louis reluctantly walk away. Harry lets out a relieved breath as he leans against the door with his legs ready to give out.

That was a close one.

~*~

Harry disappeared after the show and it concerns Louis. There’s a voice in the back of his head that keeps telling him he’s regretting all the interacting they did on stage. A few songs before the end of the concert, Harry seemed uncomfortable and wouldn’t even look in Louis’ direction.

Niall tells him Harry’s on his way to his hotel room because he was under the weather. Louis is compelled to verify that on his own. If Harry is sick, he wants to be a good friend and make sure he’s alright.

Louis stands outside Harry’s door for a moment and, before his mind can talk him out of it, he knocks on the door. There’s a faint rustling on the other side, but nothing else. After a few more bangs Louis finally hears Harry’s voice. He sounds... off. Not the kind of off someone sounds like when they’re sick. It’s more like he caught him off guard or something.

Harry assures him he’ll be okay, although Louis isn’t convinced. But if Harry doesn’t want his help, he won't force it. With a sigh, Louis turns to go back to the lift. Louis’ nostrils flare and he pauses halfway down the corridor. There’s a faint scent, it’s sweet like cotton candy. Louis’ eyes scan his surroundings, but gets nothing. The scent isn’t strong enough to track and detect where it’s coming from, but his mouth waters anyway. Louis rubs at his nose and gets into the lift when the doors part open.

Now that Louis is back in his room he lets his mind wander to Harry’s behaviour at the concert. It’s not that Harry never interacts with Louis, he always has even before they became friends. He’s been getting more comfortable messing around with him on stage. Harry’s splashed water at him, once he threw him a bra a fan had thrown on stage and it landed right on Louis’ head. They had a good laugh about that one. Harry has never gotten this close to Louis. So close, Louis could almost feel Harry was about to kiss him. It relieved him when it didn’t happen, but there was also a hint of disappointment. It’s been confusing the hell out of him.

Harry makes things stir inside Louis in ways he’s never felt before, with alphas or omegas alike. Being in Harry’s orbit is like getting caught in a daze where nothing else matters and he just wants to be around him. Louis fears he’s becoming addicted to Harry’s company, Harry’s everything.

Louis reaches for the remote, needing a distraction from his thoughts. He lands on a Japanese game show that is so entertaining, thoughts of Harry fade away momentarily.

Louis doesn’t see Harry until their next show, nearly two days later. He’d heard from Harry, informing him he’s doing better and has another day full of promo ahead of him. There seemed something odd about Harry’s texts, but Louis brushed it off because he was most likely just overthinking everything to death.

This time around Louis doesn’t bring Harry breakfast. Maybe a little distance is what he needs to get past these weird feelings he’s got going on. Instead, he sleeps in until the last possible hour before he has to be at soundcheck. Louis is refreshed when he gets into the car to head to the venue. He’s got his travel cup of tea, ready to take on the day ahead of him.

The band works on checking their instruments, making sure they’re tuned and sounding up to par. Harry joins them an hour in, and the feelings that had settled this morning are back in full force as soon as their eyes meet.

“Good morning,” Harry addresses the room. Everyone murmurs their hellos and they get back to work.

Louis doesn’t approach Harry during their rehearsal, instead focusing on his own task and trying his best not to get distracted. It’s rather futile, but Louis makes do. When Jeff dismisses them, Harry turns to approach Louis while he’s storing his guitar. Now that he sees Harry up close, with that dimpled grin, he realises he missed him, a lot.

“Hey Louis.”

Harry’s entire appearance is soft. His curls seem freshly washed, like Harry let them dry naturally so they’ve got this little fluff to them. There’s a headscarf on his head, taming some wilder curls and it suits him perfectly. Louis has never seen Harry in flannel, but with the white t-shirt and blue flannel he’s got over it, he pulls it off like no one else. The grey joggers fit Harry loose around the waist, making Louis want to reach out and run a finger across the patch of skin that’s exposed by his hip.

That’s when Louis realises he’s been staring for quite a while and has yet to return Harry’s greeting.

Louis clears his throat, running a hand through his fringe. “Hey Haz. How are you feeling?”

Harry smiles, and Louis isn’t sure if he can tell Louis was just ogling him, but he mentions nothing about it, thank God.

“Um.. I’m doing loads better. Thank you for checking up on me.” Harry blushes, which Louis finds interesting. He’s tempted to see what else will make him blush, but thinks better of it.

“That’s good to hear.”

Harry bites his bottom lip, tucking a curl behind his ear. “Would you like to join me for lunch? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Louis feels that too, but doesn’t mention it. Instead he chuckles. “It’s barely been two days.”

And there he goes blushing again. Interesting. Harry laughs. “I know, I know. Still missed you though,” he murmurs the last part as if he didn’t mean to say it out loud.

The words make Louis’ stomach swirl with butterflies. Instead of responding to that, he places his arm around Harry’s waist, bringing their bodies closer.

“Come on then. Let’s eat.”

They go to the assigned dining area backstage where the catered food is waiting for them, joining the queue with everyone else. Harry and Louis take their food to Harry’s dressing room. According to Harry he doesn’t want to share Louis’ attention with anyone at the moment. They settle on the couch, placing their food on the coffee table and tucking in.

Louis catches Harry up on the past day though there isn’t much that needs updating. Louis spent time with Zayn and Liam, feeling like a third wheel, but had fun anyway. He’s liked getting to know Liam, and he enjoys seeing how happy he makes Zayn.

Niall knocks on the door before coming in. “Sorry to interrupt. Harry, here’s the new setlist order for Tokyo’s last show.”

“There’s going to be a new setlist?” Louis inquires with his eyebrows knit together.

“Not too much different, but I wanted to add a couple of surprise covers. We were trying to figure out where they’d be best to place them on the setlist.” Harry explains.

Louis peeks at the setlist in Harry’s hand, his eyes scanning the paper. He sees the familiar names of the songs they’ve been playing since tour started but he also sees two new ones.

“Esny? What’s that one?” Louis asks, pointing to the song.

Harry raises his eyebrow. “Ever Since New York? You know that one, Lou.” His voice teases.

Louis feels silly for not having realised sooner that’s what esny stood for. His mind drifts to esnyomega. So they must be a Harry Styles fan then. Either that, or esnyomega is Harry. Louis snorts at the ridiculous thought.

“What’s so funny?” Harry asks, wanting to be in on the joke.

“Oh, um nothing. Just thinking how Zayn almost fell on his arse yesterday when he tripped on some steps.” Louis is not necessarily lying. That did happen, and it was hilarious though it’s not what he was humouring himself with right now.

Harry cackles and they resume their eating. Louis’ mind wanders to a fantasy world where Harry Styles is esnyomega who’s been watching his videos and sending him requests. If only.

  


The last show is emotional for everyone. It’s not the last show of tour but it sort of feels that way. After Tokyo, they all have a two week break before their Latin America leg begins. They’ve all been seeing each other nearly every day and it will be weird being apart for so long.

Harry does an amazing job covering Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.” The fans love it. There’s so much energy on stage, they end up performing “Kiwi” twice because none of them want the show to end just yet.

After the show, they celebrate by going to a club. They’ve got all the alcohol they could consume and they make the most of it. It doesn’t take long for Louis and everyone else in the group to get sloshed. They dance to their heart’s content and take many celebratory shots to the end of a magnificent leg of the tour.

“I’m going to miss you guys so much!” Harry whines over the music. His eyes flick over to Louis for a few seconds before he’s distracted by Clare and Sarah embracing him in a group hug.

The next day Louis feels like absolute shit, but it was totally worth it. He struggles with packing, but their flight doesn’t leave until the early evening so he takes his time while he guzzles water and Ginger Ale. By the time their car comes to pick them up to take them to the airport, Louis is almost confident he won’t vomit on the flight to London.

Their private plane awaits them and they board without a problem. Harry plops himself next to Louis who’s got one of the window seats toward the front.

Louis looks over at Harry who has a pout formed on his lips. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to miss not seeing you for two weeks,” Harry admits, his eyes not meeting Louis’.

Louis reaches over to tilt his chin to face him. “Hey, it’ll be alright. I promise you won’t stop hearing from me. I’ll be texting you so often you’ll have to shut your phone off.”

Harry shakes his head, staring at him intensely, which makes Louis’ face heat up at the scrutiny. “I’d never do that, Lou. I promise I’ll answer every single text.” A smile forms on his lips and Louis returns it.

Louis realises he’s still touching Harry’s chin, so he clears his throat and pulls his hand away. “You better."

As soon as the plane lifts off and they’re given the okay to roam around and turn on electronics, Harry and Louis agree to watch a movie. Louis lets Harry choose which he instantly regrets the second Harry picks The Notebook.

Harry ends up falling asleep about halfway through the movie, his mouth parted open with some drool dripping from the corner of his mouth. Even in this state he is adorable. Louis can’t help the picture he ends up taking with his phone.

Louis eventually falls asleep too, and when he wakes up, he’s so heated and sweaty he wonders if they turned the heat up or something. Harry is still sound asleep, so Louis unzips his hoodie and takes it off before reaching to turn the air above him so it hits him directly in the face. It gives him some relief, but it's still not enough.

Louis stands from his seat to find the loo, hoping a splash of cold water will help. He sees Zayn on his way down the aisle who throws him a concerned stare.

“You okay?”

Louis wipes at his forehead fanning himself with his t-shirt. “Fine. Just burning up. Did they turn the heat up in here?”

“Not that I know of.”

When Louis makes it to the bathroom he goes for a wee before splashing water on his face and neck. His skin is flushed and his eyes look glazed. Louis grabs his phone to check the time, and he sees the date. Fuck. He isn’t due to go into rut for another couple of days, but perhaps all the travelling he’s been doing has thrown his hormones off. They still have a few hours before they land, but Louis doesn’t want to take any chances.

After grabbing Zayn and explaining the situation, they agree that it’s best for Louis to be isolated. Thankfully there are two bathrooms on the plane, so Louis can use one to hide in until they’re close to landing. When they’re told to take their seats to prepare for landing, Louis uses one seat in the back that flight attendants use to buckle up.

Zayn stays with Louis to help keep him calm and providing some company. They don’t make it out of the plane until everyone else has exited. Louis briefly thinks about Harry and what he might think, but he immediately dismisses it, feeling himself getting half hard.

That’s new. Louis has never gotten hard thinking of another alpha, but right now all he wants to do is pop a knot and he needs to get home as soon as possible.

Zayn accompanies Louis home, making sure he’s home safe before leaving him to his own devices. Louis isn’t proud of it, but as soon as Zayn shuts the door, Louis lets his mind roam free. He’s flooded with thoughts of Harry and his smooth, milky skin. The way he sways his hips when he’s dancing on stage or at the club. Harry’s lips and how pink they get when he bites on them. It doesn’t take Louis long to pop his knot as he comes thinking of Harry, Harry, Harry.

Louis slides down to the floor, his jeans rolled down to his ankles and his hand on his cock. His face floods with embarrassment realising what he just did to come, and he shakes his head. Now more than ever his feelings about Harry are confusing the hell out of him.


	8. Chapter 8

The next few days are a blur filled with knotting to images of Harry. Louis isn’t proud of it, but he’s also too dazed from his rut  that  he doesn’t care. He receives a few texts from Harry, but they go unanswered with Louis not trusting his lust filled brain to type anything appropriate. 

Around the fourth day he wakes up less out of it and more coherent, sticky from sweat and come. Louis hops in the shower to wash it off, feeling refreshed when he steps out.

Once Louis  dresses in a clean pair of joggers and t-shirt, he throws his sheets in the wash before letting himself text Harry back.

_ Sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. Hit a rut before we landed in London. _

Louis  realises he doesn’t remember what happened with Harry during the rest of their flight. He was so incoherent; he didn’t think to ask Zayn if anyone had told Harry what was happening.

The phone buzzes and Louis picks it up in an instant.

_ Zayn told me. How are you doing? _

Louis’ face heats  up  remembering the number of times Harry was part of his rut filled fantasies and he shivers before typing a response.

_ Loads better. _

_ Good. _

~*~

Harry holds his cell phone in his hands staring at his responding text to Louis. He wants to see him so badly , but he doesn’t know how to go about it.  When it comes to Louis, Harry becomes a  socially  awkward boy with a crush.

His mind has been running nonstop since the moment Louis’ strong scent hit Harry’s nostrils on the plane. Thankfully it didn’t make him go into early heat then and there . He got  a bit  feverish and couldn’t stop whimpering. Liam had to help calm him down and inject him with the accelerant so he could make it through the rest of the flight without anyone noticing. Niall and Liam escorted Harry from the plane before everyone else. Even though he wanted to say goodbye to Louis, but he knew it wouldn’t be a good idea for either of them.

Harry’s been pacing back and forth in his home for days wanting to see or hear from Louis. He  texted him on a whim, knowing Louis was in  rut but still hoping he’d get a response. His texts went unanswered, which turned out to be a good thing in the end . Harry doesn’t know what he would have done if he got a text from a horny and rutting Louis. Just the thought of it made Harry have a few wanks.

Now that Harry’s got confirmation that Louis is back to himself, he wants to see him. He unlocks his phone and types out a text, but then erases it. This happens a few more times until he bites the bullet and does it. His heart races as soon as he hits send.

_ Do you feel well enough to come over for some songwriting? _

Harry holds his breath, waiting and letting the air out of his lungs when he sees the  grey dots on his screen showing him Louis is typing.

_ I’d love that, actually. Been holed up at my flat for days. Send me your address and I’ll meet you in  _ _ a couple of _ _ hours. _

The grin that appears on Harry’s face would embarrass him if anyone were around to witness it. Harry doesn’t hesitate to send his address and agree to see Louis soon.

Harry gets out of bed,  suddenly  bursting with renewed energy. He looks through his cabinets to see if there’s anything he can use to make a meal. Harry hasn’t been home in weeks so it’s no surprise that his kitchen is rather bare except a few essentials he got when he first arrived. Pulling out his phone, Harry makes a grocery list of things he needs to purchase. Since Louis is coming over he wants to show his culinary skills which is something he doesn’t have time to do when he’s on  tour .

The shop isn’t busy and Harry can get through his list unbothered. He catches a girl with her cellphone pointed at him when he’s browsing through the bread aisle. She’s most likely taking a sneaky picture of him that will end up on twitter within the next hour, so Harry rushes to gather the rest of the items.

Sure enough, when Harry arrives home he checks his phone to see if he’s got any texts from Louis and is bombarded twitter notifications. He doesn’t let that deter him. Instead he turns on some music and puts together something to eat.

Harry gets so caught up in preparing dinner he doesn’t  realise how much time passes before the doorbell is chiming. He wipes his hands on a dish towel before opening the door to the softest version of Louis he’s ever seen.

“Hey,” Louis breathes. He’s wearing a red beanie, and he’s swimming in a black long sleeved ADIDAS t-shirt and  trackies . 

“Come in.” Harry moves aside to let Louis enter.

“It’s smells delicious in here.” Louis sets his guitar aside, taking in his surroundings.

Harry blushes. “Thanks. I  just  made something for us to eat before we get to work. I hope you’re hungry.” He  briefly  panics because he forgot to make sure Louis had no allergies. “Is curry  alright ?”

“I love it.”

That makes Harry relax again, and he leads Louis into the kitchen.

“Make yourself at home, Lou.”

Louis’ eyes scan the area. “Wow. You have a nice home.”

Harry shrugs. “I’m  hardly  here, but thank you.”

Louis offers to help, but Harry declines and pulls out a chair for him to sit on while he finishes the chicken tikka masala. They eat and Harry talks to Louis about what he’s been up to, leaving out the whole almost going into early heat because of his rut thing.

“You work out on your days off? Why?” 

Harry laughs. “I don’t know, I  just  do. It helps ease stress and keeps me fit.” He doesn’t miss the way Louis’ eyes trail down from his face to his body and back up.

Louis clears his throat. “I guess it does.”

Harry disposes of the dirty dishes and he can’t help smile when he sees Louis’ plate  is practically licked clean.

“I don’t know if I can focus on songwriting  right now,  Haz.” Louis rubs his belly. “I’ m afraid I’ll fall asleep before I even pull my guitar out.”

“We don’t have to start right way. How about I pop a film in  while we wait for our food to go down?”

Before he can see it coming, Louis wraps his arms around Harry. He’s weak and nuzzles his nose into Louis’ neck, catching a whiff of his scent. It’s mixed with the neutralizer because Louis is so  lovely  he’s willing to do this to make Harry more comfortable. But there’s a part of him right now that wishes he didn’t have it on. Even with the spray, Harry can scent Louis however faint it may be.

“That sounds perfect. Thank you.” Louis murmurs against his shoulder.

When Louis pulls away, Harry grabs his arm. “Come on then. I’ll show you the  theatre room.”

Harry lets Louis pick the film this time since he got to pick it on the flight from Japan. He chooses Ant Man and the Wasp and they settle on the leather recliners next to each other.  Harry wishes they could be in his lounge where there’s a couch and maybe he and Louis can cuddle, their bodies touching each other. Harry shakes himself out of that thought. It’s better this way, less risky being in such  close proximity .  Especially  with Harry’s feelings getting stronger by the day.

Harry’s eyes fall shut minutes into the film. When he wakes up, he’s  briefly  forgotten where he is. The screen is playing the DVD’s menu and Louis is nowhere to  be found . Harry’s eyebrows furrow as he checks his phone. He’s got no messages. Maybe Louis went to the loo. Harry goes searching for Louis. He’s not in the bathroom or kitchen and the lounge is empty too.

Then he hears it. It’s a low strum of a guitar, but Harry can’t make out what the song is. So, he follows the sound as it gets louder and louder the closer he is. Harry’s at the top of the stairs that lead to his studio and music area and the lights are on. He takes the steps one at a time until he sees Louis. 

Louis is on the carpeted floor, a notebook opened with something scribbled on it and a pen laying at his side. He’s got his guitar, and he’s playing a melody Harry’s never heard before. It’s beautiful.

When Harry makes it down the last step, Louis looks up, smiling when their eyes meet.

“Sorry. I woke up with this melody in my head so I came down here to see  if anything  would come of it.” 

Harry sits next to him on the floor, patting Louis on the knee. “Don’t  apologise . I meant it when I said to make yourself at home.” Louis nods and Harry gestures to the guitar. “So let’s hear it then. Are these the lyrics?” He lifts the notebook on the floor.

“Yeah. Just got the chorus so far. I haven’t been down here  very  long.”

Harry reads the words noted on the paper and his breath hitches.

_ I’m sorry if I say I need you _

_ But I don’t care I’m not scared of love _

_ Cause when I’m not with you I’m weaker _

_ Is that so wrong?  _

_ Is it so wrong  _ _ that  _ _ you make me strong? _

There’s a pang of jealousy building in Harry’s chest. Is Louis writing this song to someone special or are they  just  words he’s making up from other’s experiences? Harry hopes it’s the latter.

“This  is wonderful , Lou. Can you sing it for me?”

Louis rubs his lips together. “Sure.” A hint of uncertainty laces his voice, but he closes his eyes and plays, anyway.

Harry’s throat tightens. Not only are the words and the sound of the guitar combined amazing, but adding Louis’ voice to it makes the song breathtaking. He swallows the lump in his throat that has formed.

“That’s beautiful. Let’s write the rest.”

Harry tries his best to shove his own feelings aside to work with Louis on completing the rest of the song. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t hurt with each lyric that Louis thinks of. It’s making him want to ask if there’s someone special in his life, if he’s in love and they’re the inspiration to this song. Harry doesn’t think he can bear the thought of hearing the answer to that though.

“I think we need a bridge over here,” Harry points down to where they’ve been jotting the lyrics down. 

Louis picks at the strings in his guitar then pauses. “Do you have anything in mind?” He gazes at Harry, his eyes more cerulean than ever. The intensity in them makes Harry’s knees go weak, so  thankfully  he’s already on the floor.

Harry hums as he plays the melody in his head. “How about something like,” he clears his throat, closes his eyes and sings. “So baby, hold on to my heart. Need you to keep me from falling apart. I’ll always hold on, cause you make me strong.”

When Harry gazes at Louis and his eyes are wide. “Holy shit, Haz.”

Harry smirks while his cheeks flush at the attention he’s getting. Louis writes the words down on the notebook and they continue to work.

They finish the song and Harry gets an idea. “Hey Lou, since we’re in a studio, why don’t you record this and Just Like You?”

Louis blinks and shakes his head. “There’s no need for that. They’re your songs too. We wrote them together,  you should  get to sing them. You’re the famous popstar in the room.”

Harry slaps him on the arm. “I’m serious. I think both  of these  go so well with your voice.  They were made to  be sung by you. Come on.”

Without letting Louis protest, Harry moves to get his recording equipment ready. Left with no other choice, Louis sighs and relents.

It’s  mesmerising to watch Louis sing. Harry can do it all day but he’ll settle for a few hours. Harry gives him some feedback now and then, but he doesn’t need much help. Louis sings perfectly .

They record both songs and Harry sends the files to Louis’ email. If he happens to send them to a friend who works for a label, no one has to know,  especially  Louis.

When they’re done, Harry checks the time and sees  it’s well past 2AM. Just like the last time they wrote together, Harry  isn’t exhausted in the slightest. Quite the opposite really .

“I have an idea,” Harry says after Lous puts his things away.

“I’m not recording any more songs for you,” Louis warns him.

Harry laughs. “Not today, no. Come with me.”

They head upstairs and Harry leads them to his indoor pool. Harry loves to swim as part of his daily workout routine and he  made sure to have a pool accessible 24/7.  The scent of chlorine hits them as soon as they make it inside. They stop right by the edge of the pool as Louis takes it all in.

“You have this enormous pool all to yourself?”

“Pretty much. Swimming relaxes me.”

Louis quirks his eyebrow. “If you say so.”

Before Louis can say anything else, Harry wraps his arms around his waist and holds him tight before he throws them into the water. Louis gasps before they hit the water and Harry lets him go. The water is the perfect temperature, thank God for heated pools.

When Harry makes it back to the surface Louis is glaring at him, his hair soaked and covering some of his eyes. He splashes Harry, making him cackle.

“You fucking wanker! What if I couldn’t swim?” 

Louis stops the splashing and they’re both now treading the water facing each other. Harry grins.

“Then I would have given you mouth to mouth,” he winks trying to be cheeky, and he morphs Louis’ glare into a smile.

Louis rolls his eyes. “You’re insufferable.”

Harry reaches to pinch Louis on his side. “You love me.”

Instead of saying anything in return, Louis is on him wrestling him into the water. Harry fights back and they’re both battling it out in the middle of his pool. The wrestling turns into an all out tickle war where they’re chasing after each other across the pool to make each other laugh until the other gives in.

Harry is on Louis again. He’s  definitely  winning. He tickles Louis on his sides loving the way he squirms and squeals at the contact.

“Okay! Okay! I give in, you win!” Louis yelps.

Harry lets him  go and  punches the air in victory. Louis is pouting and Harry swims closer to him.

“ Aww , Lou don’t be a sore loser. You  really  had me going there for a bit .” Louis splashes him in response, making Harry laugh. “Come on, Lou.”

Harry swims toward Louis, at this point they’re just a few feet away from each other. He reaches for Louis, pulling him closer to him.

“Don’t be mad. I promise to let you win next time.” Harry is speaking  softly  now, almost whispering and Louis’ eyes are staring into his. There’s that intense gaze again. 

Heat prickles up Harry’s spine  suddenly realising that their faces are  merely  inches away from each other. Harry looks at Louis’ lips, pink and shiny from the water and so fucking kissable. With one swift movement he could just put himself out of his misery and  finally  know what Louis tastes like, how his lips feel against his. Harry licks his lips just thinking about it, his eyelids heavy and about to close and just bite the bullet. Louis is moving closer too, so close Harry can feel his warm breath against his face.

Suddenly , it’s like an ice bucket has fallen on Harry and he flinches, pulling back from Louis. What the hell is he doing? He was about to kiss Louis and put everything at risk. Louis does things to Harry that he can’t explain. Never has he yearned for anyone the way he craves Louis and it’s driving him  absolutely  mad. Harry can’t let a moment of weakness  jeopardise what he’s spent years building. It won’t happen, no matter how irresistible Louis may be.

“I’m getting cold. Let’s go get into some warmer clothes.” Harry breaks the silence. Louis startles at the sound of his voice, nodding along.

“Yeah, yeah. Good idea.”

For the rest of Louis’ visit Harry keeps a respectful distance from him to keep another close call from happening.

~*~

Louis spends the rest of his time off trying not to picture the way he and Harry were close to kissing. Harry’s face was so close Louis could  _ almost _ taste his lips. He isn’t successful , of course he isn’t. His mind can’t let it  go and  hanging out with Harry for the rest of the break  doesn’t help either.

Camming has come to a halt because Louis has been spending so much time with Harry he hasn’t found the time to do it, and he finds he doesn’t  really  feel like it. He posted a message updating his subscribers and letting them know he’ll be putting things on hold until further notice. The last thing he wants to do is make promises he won’t be able to keep, and he doesn’t want  to leave them without  explaining  what’s been happening with him.

Before he knows it, it’s time to head to Latin America. The first show will take place in Buenos Aires and they all arrive early to adjust to the time difference. Harry isn’t able to join the group exploring the city because he has interviews to do and Louis misses him. Harry makes up for it later that evening when they have dinner in his room watching Friends reruns and trying to throw popcorn into each other’s mouths. 

They don’t talk about the almost kiss. In fact, they act like it never happened. Louis doesn’t know how to feel about that. The only reason to want to pretend something never happened is because you wish it never happened, and that. Well that fucking hurts. 

Louis plays along either way because he’d rather have Harry any way he can have him. Even if it’s like this — as friends sitting a respectful distance from each other.

Getting to play a show in Latin America is a whole different experience. One Louis is forever grateful to be a part of. The fans are amazing, their energy contagious.  Their love is felt in the air as they sing along to every one of Harry’s songs. At one point Harry closes his eyes, points his microphone to the crowd and lets them sing the rest of the song. It’s a beautiful sight.

Not as beautiful as Harry.

Now  that  they’re on a different leg of the tour, the suits get even bolder and more gorgeous. Louis wants to run his hands all over Harry’s body, though it isn’t just because of the suits.

Brazil is breathtaking. They spend an entire day as tourists visiting all the famous landmarks like Christ the Redeemer. Harry makes them all take a selfie when they get to the top and Louis obliges.  At this point, if Harry asked him to jump off, he’d do it in a heartbeat. He’s ridiculous, he knows.

Harry can’t get enough  caipirinhas , and he spends their entire trip with one on hand at all times. Louis will admit they’re delicious. By the end of their expedition,  Harry is buzzed and being extra cuddly with Louis. Knowing Harry wouldn’t do this sober, Louis doesn’t deny him because he’d do anything for him.

“Lou, I don’t want to go back to the hotel yet,” Harry whines in his ear. They’re in a bus they rented for the entire crew.  They sit next to each other, Harry with his head resting on Louis’ shoulder sipping on his  caipirinha . 

“You don’t? Then where do you want to go?” 

Harry shrugs. “I dunno. I  just  know I want to go with you.”

Louis doesn’t know what to say to that. His heart swells and the butterflies in his stomach intensify. Sometimes Harry says things that take the breath out of Louis and he doesn’t know how to respond. Harry makes him speechless.

They end up going for a swim in the hotel’s pool. Harry carries Louis on his shoulders and play against Liam and Zayn. Harry and Louis win because they’re the dream team and Liam is  surprisingly  more uncoordinated than Harry. At one point Harry yells “Look what I can do!” while attempting to do handstands in the pool with the hat he’s been wearing all day still on his head.

“You should get him to bed or else he will be insufferable in the morning,” Louis tells Niall.

Niall pouts. “But it’s my day off. Can’t you do it?”

Louis rolls his eyes. He knows Niall’s just messing with him but he still agrees to do it, anyway.

After they’ve had enough swimming, they go back to their rooms. Louis wraps his arm around Harry, making sure he doesn’t bump into anyone or fall on his face.

“Lou? What are we doing?”

“I’m taking you back to your room, Haz. It’s time to get  some  sleep, okay?”

Harry fucking pouts exaggeratedly. “Fine.”

After struggling for a bit , Louis gets Harry into a dry pair of joggers and tucked into bed. He rubs his thumb over Harry’s lips that are still forming a pout.

“Hey, none of that. Time to rest.” 

It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for Harry’s eyes to fall shut and his breathing to even out.

Mexico is their last stop of the Latin America leg of the tour. Louis has always wanted to visit, and now  that  he’s here it’s like he’s dreaming. It’s been almost three weeks of shows and exploring and Louis doesn’t want it to  end . 

Louis  nearly  chokes on his own spit when Harry comes out of his dressing room dressed in a full mariachi suit with fringes and all. Harry notices Louis and his grin deepens. He stretches his arms out and does a twirl.

“What do you think?” 

Louis takes a sip from his water bottle to clear his throat. “You look amazing as always, Hazza.”

Harry’s eyes soften. “Thanks. Now let’s get this show on the road. I’m so excited!”

His excitement is contagious and everyone  is happy to be hitting the stage.

Harry puts on a great show, but what else is new. Louis never doubted it would be anything less than spectacular. The Mexican fans are so full of energy, screaming every lyric and cheering every time Harry talks. 

“Buenas noches México! Los quiero mucho!” Harry says in his thick accent. Louis isn’t sure what he said, but the crowd is going wild.

Louis ' full of adrenaline when they get off the stage, but they won ' t be going out to a club to celebrate this time around. Although he didn ' t go into detail, Harry has to be in London the next day so  their bags are packed and already in one  of the cars ready to leave for the airport. They will have a couple weeks of down time before they have to be in the States for the final leg of the tour. Louis can ' t believe it ' s already winding down. It seems like yesterday he  hated Harry and dreading being part of the band, and now there ' s no place he ' d rather be .

After they board the flight it doesn’t take long for Louis to fall asleep.  The adrenaline from earlier has been drained out of him and now all he wants to do is sleep.

Harry is nudging Louis awake, and he blinks blearily . “What is it?”

When Louis sees Harry,  his eyes are filled with worry and his stomach sinks.

“Um, so. I  have an event I have to be at in London.” Harry begins. Louis isn’t sure where Harry’s going with this, but he lets him continue speaking. “My team hired an omega to walk the red carpet with me and stuff. I  just  wanted to let you know because... well in the past you’d stop talking  to me  when this happened.”

Louis understands Harry’s concern, and he hates that his past  behaviour has made him unsure of their friendship and where they stand. Louis reaches to grab Harry’s hand, squeezing it softly .

“You have nothing to worry about, okay? I won’t push you away this time. You won’t get rid of me that easily .” Harry does not understand how much he means these words.

A smile tugs at Harry’s lips and he nods. “Okay.” He rests his head on Louis’ shoulder and  lets out a sigh. “Thank you, Louis.”

“For what?”

Harry says nothing for a moment, and Louis thinks he might have fallen asleep but then his voice breaks the silence again. “For being my friend. I was feeling  pretty  lonely before I met you.”

There goes Harry leaving Louis speechless again. Instead of saying anything in return, Louis kisses Harry on top of his head hoping that conveys more than his words could say.

When the plane lands and they go their separate ways, Harry promises to text him after the event. Louis already misses him.

~*~

Harry shouldn’t be going over to Louis’ flat. Not only is it past midnight and nothing good happens after that, but Harry’s  due to go into heat any day now. He’s putting everything at risk by visiting Louis, but Harry just can’t stay away.

There was a fashion award event that required Harry’s attendance and he paraded around with an omega whose name he can’t even remember. It’s one of the first times in ages that Harry doesn’t feel comfortable doing what he’s doing. His mind wouldn’t stop picturing Louis and wondering what he was up to.  Harry was tempted to text him during the show, but he thought  better of it . The last thing he wants is to have pictures of him looking bored with his date and have the media questioning it. As soon as he stepped into his awaiting car and dropped off the omega at home, Harry pulled his phone out and texted Louis.

Louis, who’s now opening his door with the most beautiful smile. It’s almost like he’s missed him as much as Harry has.

“Hey.” Harry greets. He’d rushed home to throw on some sweats and  practically  ran over. He’s pathetic he knows.

“Hey Hazza.” There’s a brightness to Louis’ voice that hasn’t been there before. Harry wants to question it, but waits and sees if Louis will tell him what’s got him so giddy.

Harry sits on the couch, but Louis stands facing him. He’s bouncing from one foot to the other like he has to use the loo.

“What?” Harry gives in because he’s dying to know what’s happening.

Louis grins. “I got a call from a Lynda Neil from Hanover Records.”

Harry’s stomach drops. Fuck. Louis’ going to hate Harry for sending Lynda the songs they recorded together. But wait, that can’t be. Louis is smiling. He wouldn’t have such a bright grin on his face if he were cross with Harry.

“Oh really ?” Harry tries to play dumb, but Louis’ face shows he knows what he’s trying to do.

“Yes. She told me she heard my songs and loves them. Wants to have  a meeting with me to discuss my future with her record label.”

Harry jumps from his seat, his mouth going wide. It’s not a surprise to him because he knows Louis is  amazingly  talented and that any label would be mad not to sign him. That doesn’t stop him from being ecstatic for him.

“Lou, that’s terrific!”

They both jump as they hold hands in excitement. It brings Harry back to a time when he first got signed and how happy he was.

The jumping stops and Louis is staring at him. It’s the same stare from that time at the pool. The moment Harry has tried to pretend doesn’t exist but has failed miserably .

“It’s all thanks to you, Harry. If you hadn’t sent her, the songs we made, this wouldn’t have happened. I owe you everything.” Louis whispers the last part.

Harry can see it happening, knows it’s coming, but this time around he’s too weak to stop it. Louis closes in on him, his eyes falling shut as he surges to kiss him. Louis’ lips land on Harry’s and he can’t help the whimper that falls from his lips. His arms  instinctively  wrap around Louis’ neck as they deepen it, Harry slipping his tongue against Louis’ lips for permission. Louis doesn’t hesitate to part them and let him in and it’s everything Harry’s ever wanted.

It’s like he has found his life’s purpose and everything he’s been yearning for all of his life. It’s all wrapped up in the things that make up Louis. Louis is the missing piece to Harry’s puzzle. He’s the cure to Harry’s ailment. 

He’s  _ everything. _

Harry flinches away, making an obscene smacking sound when they pull apart. Louis’ eyebrows pinch together, his head tilts to the side in question. Harry touches his own lips, still able to feel Louis’ imprint on them, he’s breathing hard and can’t believe what just happened.

“Haz?”

Louis’ voice makes his head snap up to meet Louis’ stare. Right. They were having an amazing, earth shattering kiss. 

“I’m sorry, Louis.” Harry whispers.

Hurt fills Louis’ eyes, and it breaks Harry’s heart. “Haz, please... don’t..”

Harry shakes his head. “We can’t do this.” Before Louis can say anything else, he turns around and runs out of the door, shattering his own heart into a million pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don't hate me :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm sorry for leaving y'all hanging lol. Here's the next chapter. The tags should tell you what's going to happen here but still haha.
> 
> I wrote the smut scene listening to Animal by Troye Sivan on repeat, so if you want to listen to that while you read, that's the mood I was going for.
> 
> Enjoy!!

Harry doesn’t let the tears fall until he’s pulled away from Louis’ building.

How could he let that happen? If he stopped the kiss from happening in the first place he wouldn’t be in so much pain right now. He wouldn’t have hurt Louis.

God, Louis. He looked like Harry had taken his heart and stomped on it.

Harry wasn’t supposed to fall in love. He was fine before he met Louis. Yes, he had no one to come home to, but he was okay with that. Louis being in his life is like Harry had been seeing in black and white and Louis brought the colour and painted all over it. Harry had happiness like he’s never experienced before. But it’s not supposed to be that way.

He’s scared shitless. Louis doesn’t know Harry is an omega. What if Louis finds out and never wants to speak to Harry again? Harry doesn’t know what he’d do. It’s all moot now because he’s sure Louis won’t want anything to do with him after this.

Harry parks in his garage and stares at his reflection in the rearview mirror. His eyes are swollen, tears streaking down his cheeks. He wipes at his face trying to put himself together before going inside his home.

The loneliness is overwhelming now more than ever when Harry crosses the threshold of his house. Everything around him looks dull and grey. It’s cold, so Harry grabs his favourite fuzzy blanket and drops on his couch.

He can’t erase the image of Louis’ face when Harry said he was sorry, so he closes his eyes and wills sleep to take over.

“I think he’s dead.” Niall’s voice sounds muffled in Harry’s ears.

Harry groans, turning over and moving his blanket away from his face. Niall and Liam are staring at him with concerned eyes.

“What?” Harry glares.

Niall and Liam look at each other before gazing back at Harry.

“You look like shit, mate.” Niall ever so honestly tells him.

Liam places the back of his hand against Harry’s forehead. “You’ve got a fever. Let me get my medical stuff to confirm.” He leaves the room on a mission before he can object.

“I’m fine.” There’s a rasp to Harry’s voice, most likely from all the crying he did the night before. He’ll never tell his friends that though.

Liam sticks a thermometer in his mouth and sure enough, it’s a fever.

“Shit. I’m due for my heat any day.” Harry realises. With everything going on, he’d completely forgotten.

“Come on then. You need to go to your room.” Liam orders.

“Why? It’s my home. You guys should just leave.”

Liam rolls his eyes. “That’s not what we do when you’re in heat, Haz. It isn’t safe for you to be here by yourself.”

Harry huffs but complies, lifting himself from the couch and going to his room. “Can I at least eat something?” he looks over his shoulder to ask.

“I’ll bring you breakfast,” Liam waves him off.

With one last sigh of protest, Harry heads to his room. Maybe this is what’s best. Being in heat will help him forget about his broken heart, at least temporarily.

~*~

Louis can’t sleep.

Harry’s words are on repeat all night, making him toss and turn for hours on end. The kiss keeps replaying like a movie reel inside his brain. Louis can still feel the warmth of Harry’s lips against his. The kiss was soft and needy, like Louis was breathing life into Harry. There is no way he didn’t feel what Louis felt in that moment. It was too magical not to.

Harry completes Louis like nobody else. He doesn’t care that they’re both alphas. Louis is willing to fight for them, whatever it takes as long as Harry is his. If loving Harry is this freeing, then Louis will love him for the rest of his life.

Louis gives up on sleep eventually and calls Zayn.

“Someone better be dying,” is Zayn’s greeting when he answers.

“I kissed Harry.” He can hear Zayn gasp on the other line and if this were a different situation he’d make fun of his best friend.

“Did you fuck him? Are you regretting it?” Zayn is whispering now, maybe assuming that Harry is there with Louis.

He rolls his eyes. “No, quite the opposite actually. He said he was sorry and ran away.”

“Fuck. Do you like him?”

Louis sighs. He feels guilty not confiding in his best friend about his confusing feelings about Harry these past few weeks. Louis didn’t want to say anything until he’d figured things out first.

“I’m in love with him, Zee.” Louis’ voice breaks. Fuck, he’s such a mess.

“Oh, Lou. I’m sorry. Do you need me to come over?”

Louis wipes his eye when a tear threatens to spill. “No, no. I’m fine. I just don’t know why he’s acting this way.”

“Why don’t you confront him and ask? You’ll feel better when you do.”

Zayn might have a point. If Harry doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, he needs to find out so he can begin to move on from this. Or quit the tour and go into hiding.

“Yeah, yeah. I think I’ll do that. Thank you for listening. Sorry to wake you.”

“Never apologise, love. I’m always here if you need me.” Zayn assures him.

After his conversation with Zayn, Louis is re-energised. When he sees that it’s still early, he has some breakfast, though he can’t stomach much of it. The tv keeps him properly distracted for a few hours. He takes a shower, wears his favourite skinny jeans, t-shirt, and aftershave. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he gives himself a mental pep talk gaining the courage he needs to leave his flat. On his way to Harry’s he prepares a speech in his head including everything he wants to say.

When he arrives at Harry’s house his stomach twists with nerves. He can do this. This is Harry, one of his closest friends. Louis has never been afraid to talk to him and today shouldn’t be any different. That thought is what gives him the last push he needs to get to Harry’s front door.

Louis takes a deep breath before he rings the doorbell. He hopes Harry doesn’t see him through the window and not want to open it. That would only shove the knife deeper into his heart.

His overthinking is disrupted by the front door opening. It isn’t Harry on the other side. It’s Niall. He isn’t looking at Louis at first, but when their eyes meet, Niall’s eyes go wide.

“You're not the pizza delivery guy.”

Before Louis can manage to think of a smart remark, he’s hit with the most mouthwatering scent. It’s cotton candy and ultimate bliss. It’s everything Louis wants and more. His nostrils flare and a growl rips from his throat.

Niall’s eyes go wide and he yells for Liam, but it’s too late because Louis shoves his way inside the house, knocking him out of the way. He lets his nose lead him to the source of that magnificent scent. As Louis passes through the kitchen, he hears a glass shatter and when he glances over, he sees Liam gaping at him.

Louis is in a haze where his instincts are taking over and it’s hard to control his actions. He follows the scent until he gets to a locked door. It’s Harry’s room. Why is Harry’s room emitting such a lovely smell? Louis pounds on the door unable to open it. He’s in such a need to find where the scent is coming from he won’t be surprised if he ends up breaking it open.

“Harry? Harry is that you?” There isn’t a point to asking because there’s something inside Louis that tells him it is. It’s Harry. Not only is that glorious scent coming from Harry, Harry is an omega.

Holy shit. Harry is an _omega._

Louis bangs on the door again, his fists clashing with the wood until they’re sore.

“Lou!” Louis hears Harry whining. Hearing the sweet sound of his voice only makes him more needy. “Louis is that you?” He’s right behind the door now. There’s a jostling, as if Harry’s attempting to open the door for him. Louis’ heart races in anticipation. Of getting to have Harry close to him again, to scent him and taste him.

Right before the door can part open, Louis is being pulled away. What was once within his reach is getting further and further away. Louis catches sight of Harry, his curly locks peeking through the door, but before he can do anything else, Niall is shoving him back inside.

“Let me go! I need to see him. I need to see Harry!” Louis stretches his arms out trying to get out of Liam’s grip. But Liam isn’t budging.

“Louis, listen to me. You can’t be here. You have to go!”

Louis squirms trying to free himself. “No! I need Harry. He needs me. Needs my knot. Let me take care of him!”

He breaks free and bolts back towards Harry’s bedroom. Louis’ face falls when he sees that the door has been bolted with a lock that needs a combination. His head snaps back to where Niall is standing with his arms crossed.

“Niall. You have to let me in. Harry needs me. Please!”

“I’m sorry Louis. I can’t let you do that.”

Louis growls and stands right beside the door. He leans in to speak to it.

“Hazza? Baby?”

Harry moves on the other side. “Louis? Lou I need you _please._ I need your knot. _Please, please, please._ ”

Harry’s voice makes Louis’ heart ache. How can he be so close and not able to take care of him like he deserves?

Louis slides down the door and sits on the floor burying his head in his hands. Harry’s scent is everywhere, infiltrating his senses. He looks down at his lap and, as expected, he’s got an erection. Fuck. He leans his head back and continues to listen to Harry’s needy moans.

He’s not sure how much time passes, but at one point he senses a body sitting next to him, nudging him. Louis reluctantly opens his eyes and sees Zayn.

“Hey, Louis. Liam told me what happened.”

A wave of calm takes over Louis’ senses. Damn Zayn and his calm energy.

“I have to see him Zayn. Harry needs me.” He tilts his head to see his best friend who’s giving him a sympathetic gaze.

“Now isn’t the best time, love. You’re both not in the right state of mind to make coherent decisions. Why don’t you wait until Harry’s out of his heat to talk. Okay?”

Louis lets out a breath. For once in the past hour that he’s been here he can finally think clearly. Zayn is right. Of course he’s right. He nods and accepts Zayn’s hand when he reaches out to him.

“Come on then. Let’s take you home.”

Louis apologises to Niall and Liam who tell him not to worry.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Louis. Trust me when I say that Harry wanted to tell you the truth. He just wasn’t ready.” Liam tells him.

Louis’ heart hurts at the thought of Harry struggling with this secret. Just imagining how long he’s been carrying this burden from so many people makes him sad. Harry must have felt so alone. Suddenly many things are making sense.

“Can you tell Harry to call me, please?”

Liam nods and pats him on the shoulder before he says goodbye. When Louis gets home, Harry’s scent still lingers in his clothing so he takes off his shirt and buries his nose in it. That’s how he falls asleep after Zayn leaves his flat.

It takes everything in Louis not to go back to Harry’s house for the next few days. Harry’s scent is slowly fading from his clothes and he’s not happy about that. He calls Liam every day to check on Harry. Liam assures him he’s doing okay, and he’s still in heat and guarantees he’ll pass Louis’ message along as soon as Harry is lucid.

On the fifth day, Louis distracts himself with music. He gets his guitar out of the case because it hasn’t been out since he landed and sits on his bed. Louis had forgotten how soothing playing can be and today it serves as a reminder. His fingers move quickly to every note and he lets the melody linger in the air. He’s just making things up as he goes, until eventually he catches onto one he really likes so he writes it down.

He works tirelessly all day, feeling inspired. The words pour out of him easily and the music practically writes itself.

_What a feeling to be right here beside you now_

_Holding you in my arms_

_When the air ran out and we both started running wild_

_The sky fell down_

_But you've got stars, they're in your eyes_

_And I've got something missing tonight_

_What a feeling to be a king beside you, somehow_

_I wish I could be there now_

Louis is happy with the song he created and wonders what Harry would think of it. The song gets stuck in Louis’ head, playing over and over, lulling him to sleep after he’s settled into bed.

Louis doesn’t know how long he’s been asleep, but when his eyes shoot open the sky is still dark. Someone is knocking on his door. He reaches over to check the time and sees it’s almost 1AM. With a groan he rolls out of bed, ready to go off on whoever woke him up at such an ungodly hour.

When Louis pulls the door open he freezes. Harry stands before him with tousled hair and the prettiest pink lips. He’s wearing mismatched sweats, as if he just got whatever was on hand and threw it on. Even so, he’s still the most beautiful man Louis’ ever laid eyes on.

“Haz.” Louis rasps. Harry doesn't say anything and before he ask why he's here, Harry surges forward to capture his lips.

Louis shuts the door and Harry shoves him against it, nipping at his lips like he’s starving for air. Surely this is all a dream. Harry can’t possibly taste this heavenly against his tongue, his scent taking over all his senses. He takes Harry by the waist, pushing away from the door to lead them to the bedroom. Harry is on him, wrapping his legs around his waist and Louis’ hands travel down to his thighs to hold him in place.

They stop kissing and Louis noses at Harry’s neck, not able to get enough of his smell. He places a kiss there, licking and nibbling, making Harry whine in his ear.

“Baby.” Louis breathes before their lips meet once again. They make it to the bedroom and Louis places Harry on the bed before he takes off his shirt. Harry follows his lead, taking off his sweats until he’s completely bare. Louis has to take a moment to just stare. His eyes rake over his body, from his head all the way down to his toes. He wants to take it all in, memorise every scar, every tattoo, every hair on Harry’s skin.

Harry reaches for him, making grabby hands to bring Louis out of his trance. He moves to settle on top of him between his legs and resumes their kiss. Their tongues collide, each swipe and touch speak louder than words could ever be said between them.

Louis moves his way down to Harry’s jaw then down to his neck. He wants to set up camp here and never come up for air. It’s like this scent was custom made just for Louis, he couldn’t ask for anything more perfect.

As the most beautiful noises spill out of Harry’s lips, Louis wants to record it and play it back every day. He takes one of Harry’s nipples into his mouth, sucking on the skin making Harry whimper so beautifully. Harry’s hand comes to rest on Louis’ hair, tugging at it when he seems to get overwhelmed. Louis’ cock pulses between his legs.

Louis dips his tongue into Harry’s belly button, sucking on the skin and leaving a bruise behind. Harry’s dick is gorgeously hard for him, ready for it to be tended to. Louis takes the head and sucks on it making Harry push off the bed with a moan.

“Lou, fuck!”

He pulls off, looking up at Harry stunned.

“Haz.” Harry dazedly stares back at him with a furrowed brow. “You didn’t shower after you got off your heat?”

Harry shakes his head. “I came straight here. Didn’t want to wait.” He slurs.

Louis groans and dips his head back between Harry’s legs. He runs his tongue along Harry’s thighs, tasting the dried up slick on his skin.

“Fuck, you taste amazing baby.” Louis moans against Harry’s thigh before going back in. “Turn over.”

Harry complies easily, rolling over onto his stomach. Harry’s arse is a sight to behold especially with his glistening hole and slick sliding down his crack.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” Louis whispers. He swirls his index finger against Harry’s hole, making him whimper at the sensation. He’s so soft and open there and it makes Louis wonder if he’d fucked himself with a dildo and how many times. Louis’ finger slides in without resistance, instantly becoming enveloped in Harry’s warmth.

“Lou, Lou, Lou.” Harry chants as Louis works his finger inside him, eventually pushing in a second one to join the other. He savours the sensation, the way his fingers disappear in and out of Harry’s arse, like they’re just as greedy as Louis feels.

“You want my knot baby?” Louis asks. He uses some of Harry’s slick to rub it against his shaft to make the slide smoother.

“Yes, yes. God yes. Please, Louis. Fill me up.”

The words are music to Louis’ ears. He lines up against Harry, gently nudging inside. As soon as Louis’ cock makes contact with Harry’s arse they both groan. Harry lifts himself up with his hands, looking over his shoulder.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Louis squeezes Harry’s hip before pushing in deeper. His eyes fall shut, the tightness around him becoming almost too much for him. He needs a moment to gain his bearings before he continues going in until his hips are touching Harry’s arse.

Louis holds onto Harry’s hips and pulls out before pushing back in. Harry whines and Louis continues, trying to find a steady rhythm in his thrusts. He can’t take his eyes away from the way his cock looks as it fucks into Harry. The way Harry’s perfect arse bounces every time Louis slams his hips back.

“Yes. Oh God. Yes.” Harry moans. He’s gripping the duvet beneath him and Louis leans to sniff his neck and latch his mouth onto it. It isn’t the side where the bond mark would go, but God, just thinking about making Harry permanently his almost makes him pop his knot right there.

“You feel so good, baby. Can’t believe I get to have you like this.” Harry only mewls in response, and Louis slams harder into him. “Come on baby. Let me see how beautiful you look when you come. I know you do.”

Louis thrusts deeper, reaching with one hand to grab a hold of Harry’s curls and that’s what does it for him. With a shout, Harry’s body trembles before he’s shooting come on the duvet beneath him.

“That’s it. Let go, love.” Louis can feel his knot swelling, his orgasm on the precipice.

“Lou. Be my alpha.” Harry is staring at him over his shoulder, his eyes pleading. Louis pops his knot as he comes harder than he’s come in his life. He falls on top of Harry, completely sated and boneless.

Harry is panting beneath him and Louis moves them to their sides as they adjust to being connected by Louis’ knot. Louis kisses Harry on the shoulder, nuzzling his neck that’s quickly turning into his favorite spot in the entire world.

“I love you, Louis.” Harry says, his voice laced with exhaustion.

Louis kisses his neck again, licking and nipping at it before responding. “You have no idea how much I love you.” He tightens his hold around Harry, moving them as close as they can as they wait for his knot to go down. It isn’t long before he hears Harry’s breath evening out. Louis’ own eyelids are getting heavy, but he’s trying to fight it. It isn’t until his knot gone that he finally gives in to sleep with his arms wrapped around Harry’s warm body.

~*~

It’s one of the first mornings in a long time that Harry wakes up well rested. He blinks as he takes in his surroundings. Warm arms wrap around him and he’s never felt more at home than he does in this moment. A smile forms on his lips as memories from last night come back to him.

Harry had woken up out of his heat with worried looks from Liam and Niall. They told him how Louis had come to talk to him and realised Harry’s secret, almost tearing down his bedroom door trying to get to him. Harry blushed as his friends recounted the events. He was instantly filled with hope that Louis wasn’t upset about Harry’s secret. From what Liam and Niall had told him, Louis wanted to care for him and that warmed Harry’s heart.

He didn’t hesitate to throw clothes on and go straight to Louis’ flat, not even bothering to shower. Harry couldn’t wait. He’d spend most of his life waiting for something unknown to him at the time. Now he knows what he was waiting for was Louis.

It wasn’t until Harry found Louis that he felt whole.

When Louis answered the door, the words didn’t come out. Harry had so much to say yet all he wanted to do was kiss Louis. So that’s exactly what he did. Louis received him with open arms and the rest is a haze of lips against skin and Harry giving himself completely to his alpha. His alpha. God.

Harry knows they still have so much to talk about but there’s nothing his heart yearns for more than to have Louis be his alpha.

His thoughts are disrupted by Louis’ arms squeezing him tighter and the warmth of his breath against Harry’s neck.

“Good morning, love.” Louis kisses his neck, and it still sends shivers down Harry’s spine every time.

“Morning.” Harry grins so wide his cheeks hurt.

“How d’you sleep?” Louis nibbles at his earlobe, making it hard for Harry to formulate a coherent response. It takes a couple of tries before he can get even one word out.

“Perfect.”

Louis chuckles softly before licking his neck. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Harry moves to roll over to face Louis and in the process his arse aches and that makes him blush.

“What’s got you so flushed, baby?” Louis teases, caressing his cheek and leaning in to give him a proper kiss. Harry will never tire of the way Louis tastes. He’s absolutely perfect.

“Nothing. Just thinking about last night and how sore my arse is.” Harry admits. Now that Louis knows the truth about him, he vows to be honest with him from now on.

Louis grins, biting his bottom lip. “Last night was…. well, it was incredible.”

Harry nods. “It was.”

They stare into each other’s eyes, not saying anything else. Harry wants to know what Louis is thinking about, so he asks him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Louis’ eyes drop to his lips before meeting his again. “I’m wondering if this is real life or if I’m dreaming.”

Harry cranes his neck to reach Louis’ lips to capture them in another kiss. “Mmm feels very real to me.” He kisses him one more time for good measure.

Louis laughs. “I should pinch you just to make sure.”

Harry squeals when Louis pinches his side. It turns from squirming into snogging in seconds. Harry ends up on top of Louis, straddling his hips and rutting against his crotch.

“Harry, fuck.” Louis breathes pulling away. He tucks some curls behind Harry’s ears as he stares at him like he’s from another world. “I meant what I said last night, you know? I really do love you. So much.”

Harry’s face flushes at Louis’ admission. He looks down at his hands placed against Louis’ bare chest. He makes a mental note to taste every single inch of him later. “Me too. Not only am I completely and utterly crazy in love with you, I also want you to be my alpha.”

Louis grins, his face turning into full sunshine with the crinkles on his eyes and everything.

“Yeah?”

Harry nods. “Absolutely. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

Louis wraps his arms around Harry, sitting up and attacking him with kisses. He sniffs his neck and groans. “God, have I told you how great you smell. You smell so fucking good I just want to live in your neck forever.”

Harry giggles. “No, but I’ll never tire hearing you say it.”

“Good.” Louis swoops in for a kiss, licking into Harry’s mouth. “For the record,” he says pulling away. “I want you to be my omega, too.”

Harry’s grin falls for a brief moment, remembering a big secret he’s still holding back from Louis.

“What is it baby?”

Harry bites his lip as his eyes meet Louis worried and scared of his reaction. They can’t start any type of relationship until Harry comes clean.

“There’s something you need to know. Before we become anything, I have to tell you something.” Harry begins.

Louis rubs Harry’s back as he continues to gaze at him intently. “What is it?”

How does Harry even begin? Should he just say it? Should he begin with an explanation of how he stumbled upon Louis’ videos?

Louis nudges Harry, shaking him from his frantic thoughts.

“Haz, what is it? You can tell me anything.”

Harry lets out a long sigh. “I know that you’re a cam boy.”

When Harry looks at Louis, he’s got an amused smile on his face. “Yeah? I wasn’t really hiding that from anyone.”

“Not just that, though. I was… I _am_ one of your subscribers. After we first met, I looked you up. Since we didn’t get on right away, I was trying to see if maybe we’ve met before and I did something to you. But then I came across your videos and sort of became a fan…” Each word that comes out of Harry’s mouth is like a weight being lifted from his shoulders. The weight is getting lighter and lighter the more honest he’s being.

Louis laughs. “Oh my God. You were one of those creeps that sent me suggestions weren’t you?”

Louis might mean it as a joke, but little does he know how close he is to the truth.

“Actually. You recorded one of my suggestions. I’m esnyomega.”

Louis’ eyes and mouth go wide. Harry can’t tell if it’s good or bad. Doesn’t know if he will be upset or continue to think it’s funny.

Just as Harry is about to ask Louis to say something, Louis surges forward, pushing Harry onto his back and climbing on top of him. He leans in placing his lips against Harry’s ear making him shiver.

“Mmm, so you’re my pretty omega. The one that wants me to lick your needy hole?” Louis rasps.

Harry whimpers. “Fuck. Yes, yes, please.”

Louis moves so they’re facing again, a soft smile on his face. “I’ll take care of my pretty omega.” He leans in to kiss him softly before pulling away and moving down Harry’s body.

The first lick against Harry’s hole makes him cry out. He’s never had his arse eaten before and he’s glad he waited until now. Louis eats arse like a starved man. He spreads Harry open and fucks him with his tongue until Harry screams.

“Look how needy you are for me,” Louis says awestruck before going back in.

Harry comes on Louis’ tongue alone. Louis doesn’t let him recover because as soon as he comes, he’s fucking into him until his knot swells and they’re connected. Being this close to Louis, having him attached to him, drives Harry wild.

They don’t get out of bed until hours later when their stomachs growl and Harry makes them something to eat. Spending time in Louis’ flat, being domestic and in love makes Harry look forward to a future he never thought he could have.


	10. Chapter 10

Going back on tour is such a drag. All Louis wants to do is stay holed up with Harry in a room and never come out. Harry is addicting and Louis can’t get enough. They’re forced to keep their hands to themselves when they’re around the crew. It’s so fucking hard to do at first, but as they do more shows, it gets easier.

In Dallas, Harry insists they go on a proper date. 

“I can’t believe you’re making me wear clothes to go out to eat,” Louis whines. “Couldn’t we have ordered takeaway while I had my way with you? There are parts of the hotel room we haven’t defiled yet.”

Harry laughs. “We have plenty of time for that after I take you out. You’re my first real boyfriend, I want to do this right.”

Louis’ face softens, and he leans over their table to give him a kiss. “You’re right baby. I love this. I love you.”

Harry brightens. “I love you too.”

Louis allows Harry to wine and dine him and after they leave the restaurant, they head back to the hotel. They aren’t even all the way inside before Louis is on Harry, licking on his neck and latching on to leave a mark. 

Louis pushes Harry against the door, leaning into him so close his erection is very prominent against his thigh. 

“See what you do to me?” Louis whispers in to his ear. “I’m like this around you all the time. You drive me crazy.”

Harry whines into Louis’ mouth as he licks into him.

“Fuck me, Lou. Please, please, fuck me.”

Louis pulls away, staring into Harry’s eyes. “I’ve got you baby. Come on.”

  
  


One day, in Chicago, they’re lying in bed too lazy to get out and join humanity. Louis is admiring the way the sunlight filtering through the window makes Harry’s skin glow.

“Hey, Lou?” Harry’s voice interrupts his thoughts that were about to get explicit.

“Yeah?”

Harry licks his lips, his eyes nervous as he meets his gaze. “I have to go to Los Angeles after this show for a few days. There’s an event that requires my attendance and… my team hired an omega to attend with me and stuff. But I was wondering if you wanted to come to LA with me?”

Louis grins. “Of course baby. I’d love to go anywhere with you.”

The apprehension in Harry fades away and he’s mirroring the same grin. “Okay. Good.”

Louis emails Lynda from Hanover Records to let her know he’ll be in LA and they set up a meeting.

They take a private plane to Los Angeles with Niall, Liam and Zayn. Louis is glad not to have to hold back around their friends. They were ecstatic to hear they’d gotten their shit together and are now a couple. 

Louis has never been to LA before and he’s glad to get to be here with Harry. They drive to Harry’s house. Well, it’s more like a fucking mansion.

“This is where you live?” Louis gapes, staring out the window as they pull in to the driveway.

Harry has the audacity to blush. “Yeah. I’m not here as often. I bought this house when I kept coming for business stuff. It’s just easier than staying in hotels all the time.”

Louis gets a tour from the enormous lounge to the heated swimming pool with its own waterfall and hot tub outside. There’s no studio in this one like the one in London, but it’s still amazing.

Harry’s event and Louis’ meeting aren’t until tomorrow, so they spend their day lounging by the pool. He makes them sandwiches and margaritas by the built-in bar and Louis could get used to living like this. 

“Are you excited about your meeting with Lynda?” Harry asks as he bites into his sandwich.

“I am, yeah. Not sure what to expect.”

“Whatever you do, sign nothing until you’ve had a lawyer look over the paperwork,” Harry warns him.

“Where am I going to get a lawyer?” 

“I’ll give Irving a call. He’s my lawyer, and he’s been great and making sure I get a fair deal.” Harry tells him.

Louis kisses Harry on the cheek. “Thanks love.”

After lunch, Harry insists they go out. They walk around Beverly Hills, and Harry gets stopped by fans asking for autographs and pictures multiple times. Louis just stands back, watching the way Harry treats his fans with so much kindness. He never shows annoyance, instead being patient with each and everyone. Louis doesn’t know how he does it.

They grab some frozen yoghurt at Harry’s favorite shop. Louis fills his with as many toppings as possible while Harry tops his with fruit. Harry ends up eating more out of his than his own, which Louis teases him endlessly about.

Harry convinces Louis to go shopping for an outfit for him to wear to his meeting with the label tomorrow.

“You have to make a good impression, Lou.” Harry insists.

“Can’t I just charm her with my good looks?”

Harry scowls. “Don’t you dare. That’s only for me to see.”

Louis laughs. “You’re ridiculous. Fine. Let’s go get me an outfit.”

They spend the rest of the afternoon going to store after store. Harry makes Louis try on countless outfits until he seems satisfied with one he likes. Louis looks at himself in the mirror and agrees with Harry’s fashion taste.

“Not bad.” Louis turns to get a look at his backside. “These trousers make my arse look good.”

“Don’t I know it,” Harry mumbles as he stares at Louis through the reflection.

After paying, they head back to the house.

“We’re going somewhere nice for dinner so make sure to dress up a bit.” Harry informs him when they’re putting the stuff from their shopping bags away.

Louis quirks an eyebrow. “Oh really? Where are you taking me?”

Harry smiles mischievously. “You’ll just have to wait and see,” he says before disappearing into his enormous walk-in closet.

Louis sighs. “Fine. Are you going to join me in the shower?”

Harry pouts. “Sorry babe. I can’t. There’s an errand I’ve got to run. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Now Louis is the one pouting. “You’re going to leave me here all by myself?”

Harry wraps his arms around him and kisses him on the lips before nuzzling his neck. 

“I won’t be long. I promise.” He kisses Louis one last time before letting go and walking out of the room.

Louis lets out a breath before grabbing a towel from the linen closet and getting into Harry’s massive ensuite. His shower is as big as his bedroom back in London. Louis had been looking forward to trying it out with Harry. He turns on the water that cascades like a waterfall. There are three other nozzles that also spray water and Louis is in heaven. He spends an insane amount of time washing and enjoying the water pressure, cleaning every crevice. His plans with Harry later tonight will make them both very dirty and he wants to be prepared.

When he gets out of the shower, he expects Harry to be waiting for him, preferably naked, but he’s nowhere to be found. Maybe he’s showering in the guest shower or something. Louis picks out one of the new outfits he got today. Harry wasn’t satisfied with one outfit for Louis and ended up purchasing all the ones he tried on insisting he looked good in everything. Louis didn’t fight it, but he plans on making Harry pay for it later. 

Louis goes for a black pair of skinny jeans, a Burberry top and black leather Vans. He doesn’t spray any aftershave, wanting his natural scent to drive Harry insane wherever he plans on taking him. Just as he’s finishing up the last touches of his outfit, he hears the doorbell ring.

His eyebrows furrow confused why Harry would ring the doorbell unless it’s someone else stopping by for a visit? Louis approaches the front door wary until he opens it. His lips curve into a grin. 

“Oh my God.”

Harry is on the other side with a beautiful bouquet. He’s wearing trousers with black and white flowers and a plain black button-up shirt that’s see through. His hair is styled with his curls framing his face in the most gorgeous way and it takes Louis’ breath away.

“What’s all this?” He takes the flowers and sniffs them. Louis doesn’t remember telling Harry his favourite flowers were gardenias. The mixture of pink roses and gardenias are breathtaking.

Louis moves aside to let Harry in as they walk to the kitchen to find a vase. Conveniently enough there’s already an empty glass vase waiting on the kitchen counter.

“I’m taking you out on another date.” Harry says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“We already went on a date.” Louis reminds him as he fills the vase with water.

Harry rolls his eyes fondly. “Yes, we did. And it was wonderful. But, couples go on more than one date, Lou.”

Louis blushes. He isn’t used to getting this much attention from someone. Most of the attention he’s used to getting was from his subscribers, but even then they only wanted to see him naked in front of the camera. It’s more than that with Harry. Harry wants passion, but most of all he wants romance and he isn’t afraid to pull all the stops to woo Louis.

“Right. Well, where are we going?”

Harry takes his hand after he’s done putting the flowers in the vase and takes him outside. 

“We’re going to dinner.”

They get into Harry’s Range Rover and he takes them to a restaurant Louis’ never heard of called Blue Anchor. The car park is nearly empty except for a few vehicles, which Louis finds odd since it’s early evening and the sun has just set. He takes the hand Harry offers when they get out of the car and he walks them inside. Louis gasps.

The restaurant is empty, the lighting is dim and the tables are lit up with candles giving it a romantic ambiance. There’s a single table in the middle with a flower centrepiece.

“Good evening, welcome to Blue Anchor. Your table is ready.” A man with a thick accent greets them and walks them over to their table. They take their seat and the waiter gives them their menus.

“Haz, you didn’t have to close out the entire restaurant,” Louis tells him.

Harry looks up from his menu. “Don’t worry Louis. I’m part owner of this place, and my partner was more than okay with closing it for the evening. It’s not a big deal.”

Okay, so Harry is part owner of a restaurant. You learn something new every day.

The waiter brings them a bottle of wine topping each of their glasses before excusing himself to give them time to look over their menus. Everything looks delicious and Louis can’t decide what he wants to get.

“What’s good here?” He asks Harry.

“The salmon is my favourite. But their beef wellington is also to die for.”

They order that and when the waiter leaves, Harry reaches to hold Louis’ hand.

“Is there anything else I should know, other than the fact you are part owner of a restaurant?” Louis asks.

Harry grins. “Actually yeah. I’m an anonymous benefactor for the Omega Foundation. I also go to the children’s hospital every year around Christmas time to give the children gifts and perform for them.”

Louis tilts his head, resting it on his fist. “Why don’t they write that about you in the papers? About how charitable you are and the good things you do.”

Harry shrugs. “I don’t do those things for publicity and I wouldn’t want to bring attention to that. It’s just something I like to do to help where I can, you know?”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

Harry grins. “You have, but I’ll never tire of hearing it.”

  
  


“We’d love you to record an EP with us. I think you’re extremely talented, Mr. Tomlinson, and we would love to work with you.” Lynda folds her hands on top of her desk smiling at Louis.

Louis can’t believe he’s here. This is what he’s been working towards and it’s finally happening. He never imagined that he’d be sitting in front of a label executive telling him they love his music and want to work with him. Not only does he have that now, he also has someone he loves with his entire being. Louis is bursting with joy.

“I appreciate this opportunity and I promise not to let you down.” They talk more in detail about everything. Niall is with Louis as his manager. They have made nothing official yet, but he asked about representing Louis when he heard Hanover Records was interested in him.

They conclude the meeting with an agreement to meet again after Louis is done touring with Harry. It’s all so surreal to Louis.

When Louis arrives back to Harry’s house, he thanks Niall for accompanying him before saying goodbye. The house is quiet and Louis checks the time. Harry isn’t due to go to his event for another couple of hours and he promised he’d be here waiting to hear everything about his meeting.

“Haz?” Louis calls out. He isn’t in the lounge, kitchen or out by the pool, so Louis heads up the stairs to see if he’s in the bedroom.

Louis opens the bedroom door and his breath hitches. 

Harry is on the bed fucking himself with a knotted dildo. His skin is glistening with sweat and the air is filled with his scent. Louis is instantly hard, a growl forming on his throat. Harry looks over his shoulder and whines.

“Lou.”

Louis is out of his clothes and on the bed in an instant, latching himself onto Harry’s neck taking as much of his smell as his lungs will allow. 

“Fuck, baby. Why didn’t you wait for me?” He holds the dildo in place, nudging it a little and Harry moans. 

“Ahh. Couldn’t. Wait.” Harry pants. 

Louis licks Harry’s neck before capturing his lips in a deep kiss. “I love it when you’re so needy for it.” He tugs at the dildo slowly until it’s all the way out. It’s mesmerising to see how Harry’s hole stretches out, all shiny with slick. Louis can’t help have a taste as he dips down to swirl his tongue around it.

“Lou! Ah fuck.”

Louis would normally spend his time tearing Harry apart bit by bit, but he can’t take it anymore. He needs to be inside Harry, his omega, this instant. He shoves himself inside Harry in one swift motion. Harry cries out and Louis’ breathing speeds up already being overwhelmed with the tight heat of Harry’s arse.

“You’re amazing baby. So good.”

Louis slams into Harry harder and harder, their skin slapping together with each thrust. 

“Want you to be thinking of me and my knot when you’re with that omega tonight. Remember you’re  _ mine. _ ”

Harry’s screams are muffled by the pillow his face is buried in and Louis continues on his punishing rhythm. His knot swells and catches on Harry’s rim, making them both gasp before they’re connected and Louis is coming hard.

“Fuck!” Louis trembles as his orgasm rips out of him. Harry follows right after him, shaking and spilling all over the sheets.

Louis runs his tongue along Harry’s neck and kisses him there. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you, Lou.”

They lay side by side as they wait for Louis’ knot to go down. Harry’s breath still erratic but slowing down.

“So how was the meeting?” Harry asks when they’ve finally come down from their orgasms.

Louis nuzzles Harry’s neck and sucks on the skin there leaving a bruise. “Good. So, so good.” He leans back in to lick Harry’s neck before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

  
  


~*~

The tour continues and the more they travel around the States the more Harry thinks about coming out as omega to the world. It happens every time his and Louis’ eyes meet and he looks at Harry like he’s his entire world. In those intimate moments they share with a single touch or kiss when no one else is around. It makes Harry feel like he can do anything, and the more he thinks about it the more confident he is that it’s what he wants to do. 

The last thing he wants to do is get Louis’ hopes up or worry anyone in his team before he’s decided. He’s almost positive he’s leaning towards doing it, but he wants to wait for the right time. Harry doesn’t know when that will be, but he’ll know when the time comes. He has to be patient. Harry has been waiting almost ten years, he’s sure he can wait longer.

They play Madison Square Garden, and Harry takes Louis to visit Central Park and the Empire State Building. When they’re in Chicago, they visit the Willis Tower and Millenium Park. Harry also takes Louis to eat Chicago’s deep-dish pizza and the best cupcakes in the city. They also visit the Grand Canyon as their tour heads West. Harry takes his camera and makes them pose for several selfies with the mountains in the background. Louis teases him relentlessly about it, but Harry knows he secretly loves it.

They go back to Los Angeles for the two final shows. They’ve got two days of downtime before the big night so Harry and Louis spend it in Harry’s house binge watching tv and having sex wherever they please. 

Harry wakes up with Louis’ hand touching his forehead. When he opens his eyes, he’s met with concerned eyes.

“What is it?”

“You feel warm.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrow and he touches his face. He feels nothing. “I feel fine.”

Louis’ already got his cell phone in his hands typing something out. “I’m going to tell Liam so he can check to make sure.”

Harry groans. “Louis I’m fine. That’s not necessary.”

“How about you stop being a stubborn arse and just let Liam check your temperature? This is for your own safety, babe.” Louis sounds concerned for him and Harry loves him for it, but the last thing he needs right now is to be in heat. He has his second to last show tomorrow and there’s no way he will postpone or cancel them when he’s so close to the end.

Harry tries his best pouting that always works on Louis like a charm, but this time is unsuccessful. Before he knows it, Liam’s at their door with his medical kit in hand.

“Alright let’s see here.” Liam pulls out his thermometer from his bag and moves to stick it in Harry’s mouth. Harry moves away from it making Liam huff. “Harry, come on. Open up. You’re only making this more difficult on yourself.”

“I’m fine guys. I don’t need to be checked.”

“Harry, let Liam check your temperature.” Louis’ alpha voice echoes in the room, making everything go silent. Harry’s never heard this side of Louis before and is it normal he’s turned on right now?

Unable to resist his alpha, Harry complies and opens his mouth, letting Liam place the thermometer. Louis runs his fingers through Harry’s hair. He leans down to kiss him on the forehead.

“I’m sorry I used that voice, but you need to get checked, baby.” Louis’ voice is much softer now and Harry closes his eyes, leaning into his touch.

Harry nods. “It’s okay. I should stop being a stubborn prick,” he mumbles. Liam glares his way and tells him to stop moving the device in his mouth.

Louis chuckles. “You said it, not me.”

The thermometer beeps and Liam removes it from Harry’s mouth and looks at it. “You’ve definitely got a fever. I think you’re going into heat.”

Harry groans. “Fuck. I can’t cancel my shows, Li. “

“I know, but there’s really no other choice is there?”

Harry closes his eyes trying to prevent tears from forming. This can’t be happening.

“I can help you get through it faster if you want?” Louis speaks up.

Harry stares at him and Louis looks unsure as if he’ll be rejected. 

“The quickest he’s gotten through a heat with an alpha has been what? Three days?” Liam glances at Harry.

Harry nods. “Yeah. That was years ago though.”

Louis’ face hardens at the mention of another alpha with Harry, making his cock twitch.

“I can get him through it faster.” Louis sounds so sure of what he’s saying, Harry believes him.

“Okay. Yeah, I mean. I wanted you to spend it with me either way, but yeah. Let’s do it.” Harry says.

“Alright, well I’ll leave you two to it. It’ll be nice not to have to watch guard this time around.” Liam says as he packs up his things.

Louis glares at him, his nostrils flaring. 

“Oh calm down. I’m going,” Liam admonishes.

Liam leaves and Louis locks the door behind him before turning to gaze at Harry.

“You alright? Do you need anything?”

Harry loves him so much and how attentive he’s already being.

“Yes. I need your knot. Please.” 

Louis laughs, but says nothing. Instead, he takes off his clothes and Harry follows his lead.

Things go hazy after that. Harry doesn’t have a lot of memory of what happens next. All he knows is Louis takes care of him in a way no one ever has. Louis isn’t just attentive to every single one of Harry’s needs, he cuddles him after every orgasm, helping him come down from each high. He feeds Harry, makes him drink plenty of water. Everything is a blur, but the one thing that is clear to Harry is how much he’s loved by Louis. The look of love on Louis’ face is like none Harry’s seen.

“I love you, love you, love you.” Louis chants every time he thrusts into Harry.

The way their scents mix together to create the most wonderful mix of pheromones is intoxicating. Eventually, Harry passes out from exhaustion, but he’s never felt more safe in his life.

  
  


When Harry wakes up, he’s hot and sticky. Louis isn’t lying next to him so he sits up whipping his head around to find him.

“Lou?” Harry’s voice is raw, and he wonders what he did to fuck up his throat.

The bedroom door opens, and Louis comes in with a tray in his hands with two cups of tea and food.

“Sorry love. Went to grab you something. Here drink some tea with lemon for your throat.” Louis sets the tray on the bedside table and hands Harry his mug. Harry sips on the hot liquid instantly soothing his throat.

“Why’s my throat so fucked up?”

Louis giggles, his cheeks flushing. “You were screaming. Like, a lot.”

Now it’s Harry’s turn to blush. “Oh.”

Louis rubs his back. “It’s okay baby. You did great.”

“How long has it been?” Harry asks wearily. He hopes they didn’t have to cancel or postpone any shows.

Louis kisses him on the head. “It’s only been a day. We missed rehearsals, but we still have a couple of hours before we have to be at the venue. Liam was giving us until 17:00 before he told Niall to postpone the show.”

Harry’s shoulders relax. “Oh thank God.”

“You’re welcome,” Louis grins cheekily.

Harry slaps him on the arm. 

With that, the show continues. The first night goes amazingly well. There are many of Harry’s celebrity friends in the crowd. They all go out to the club after the show to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company. It’s hard not to get to be all over Louis, and Harry can’t take it. While Harry is sitting with some of his friends, he watches Louis on the dance floor dancing with Sarah and Clare.

Harry excuses himself from the table and marches up to Louis. His scent hits Harry like a freight train, only making him more needy than before. Louis sees him and grins.

“Haz, come join us!”

Harry grabs Louis from the front of his t-shirt, pulling him towards him to whisper in his ear.

“Take me home, Lou. Please.” 

Louis must have heard the neediness in his voice because his head nods and he’s suddenly telling Sarah and Clare that he has to go.

  
  


There’s something about the last day of tour that’s always nostalgic to Harry. It’s like graduation, where people say goodbye and you don’t know if you will see these people again. There’s a sad feeling in the air from the moment they begin soundcheck to when they’re all hanging out backstage waiting to be called.

Harry’s stomach is in knots, but not because it’s the last day of tour.

The show begins like any other. Opening with “Only Angel” and Harry dances like he’s never danced before. As the show progresses, the more nervous Harry gets. Either way, he’s sure this is the right moment, and he isn’t going to waste it.

“Good evening everyone,” Harry begins. He’s got his acoustic guitar on his chest and he strums a few notes on it. He isn’t supposed to have it according to the setlist, but Harry isn’t following the setlist tonight. “I hope you’re all having a good time. There’s a song I want to play for you. One I’ve recently written that you don’t know yet. My band doesn’t know I’m doing this,” he turns over to look at them. “Sorry guys. This is a spur of the moment type of thing.” He doesn’t miss the cute confused look on Louis’ face but he doesn’t focus on it right now. 

“There’s something you all don’t know about me. You see, I was actually born an omega. When I got signed, I hid that side of me for many reasons. But today, as I stand here before you all, I want to be honest. I want to tell you all that I’ve found the love of my life and I want to play this song for them.” Harry looks over his shoulder, at this point Louis’ eyes are wide. Harry grins. 

“Louis, baby. This song is for you,” he blows him a kiss and strums his guitar.

_ Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me _

_ But bear this mind it was meant to be _

_ And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks _

_ And it all makes sense to me _

Harry moves his body so that he’s staring at Louis while he continues to sing the song, meeting his eyes.

_ I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth _

_ But if I do, it's you, oh it's you, they add up to _

_ I'm in love with you and all these little things _

Towards the end of the song, the audience have their flashlights out. The entire arena is illuminated as if they were out in the night sky with a clear view of the stars. When Harry plays the last note, he nervously gazes at Louis who’s running towards him, wrapping his arms around him. The angle is awkward because of the guitar in the way, but they manage. They kiss and the crowd roars, ringing in his ears. But Harry doesn’t care, he only cares about the taste of Louis’ lips.

When they pull away, Louis smiles at him. “I love you. You wanker. Why didn’t you tell me you were doing this?”

Harry shrugs. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Louis grins and leans in to kiss him again. Right now, no one else around them matters, just the boy in his arms. 

The love of his life.

  
  


**Some Time Later…**

Louis runs off the stage, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Zayn pats him on the back.

“Good show, Louis.”

“Thanks.” He grins as they walk backstage to his dressing room. 

He’s been on the road for almost a month doing Jingle Ball shows around the States with other great artists. Louis’ EP has exceeded everyone’s expectations and after the holidays he’s going back to the studio to work on an album. 

Louis is escorted to an awaiting vehicle outside after the show, driving him back to his hotel room. He says goodnight to Zayn before they part ways. Louis goes straight for the shower, taking it as hot as his skin will allow. He loves being on the road, but hates being away from Harry. Harry has been busy at the studio finishing up his own album. Louis has heard some songs and it’s some of Harry’s best work yet. He can’t wait for everyone to hear them. 

After his shower, Louis puts on a pair of pants before laying in bed with his laptop. He powers it on and sees that Harry’s on Skype so he doesn’t hesitate to video call him.

Harry appears on the screen with a wide grin, his eyes so bright and green.

“Baby!” Harry yelps as soon as he answers. “How are you? How was the show?”

Louis laughs. “It went well. I miss you though.”

Harry’s smile fades. “I know, I miss you too. So much. I think we’re pretty much done with the album. I might be able to come join you earlier than I thought.”

That makes Louis perk up. “Yeah?”

Harry nods. “Mmhm. Just booked my flight, actually. I’ll be meeting you in Chicago tomorrow.”

“Oh my God! Why are you just telling me this now?”

Harry laughs brightly. “I wanted to see your face when I told you.”

Louis pouts. “Meanie.”

A yawn rips out of Harry and he stretches his arms, his muscles constricting on his chest. Louis wishes he were there to lick him. “I should go to bed it’s been a long day. But, I wanted to tell you I have a surprise for you.”

Louis quirks his eyebrow. “Yeah? So you telling me you’re flying over earlier to see me wasn’t the surprise?”

“Not really. Check your email after we hang up. You’ll see.” A mischievous smirk appears on Harry’s face which piques Louis’ interest.

“Fine. Good night then. Love you.”

“I love you, Lou. Get some rest.” 

Louis stares at the blank screen after Harry disappears until he shakes himself out of it and opens the browser to check his email. There’s an email from Harry with “For Your Eyes Only” on the subject line. When Louis clicks on the message he sees a video attached to the email. 

The video shows a shirtless Harry, looking into the camera. He licks his lips before he speaks. 

“Hey, Lou. I thought it’s only fair that since I’ve seen your videos, that you should see me on video too. I will send you several videos leading up to Christmas, each one of me doing the same things you’ve done in yours. I hope you like them. I love you!” Harry blows a kiss to the camera. 

Louis’ cock is already half hard, just imagining the videos Harry has planned for him. The next shot of Harry is on the bed in lacy baby blue panties with matching stockings. Louis nearly chokes on his own spit. 

Harry’s skin is beautiful pale against the powder blue lace, Louis wishes he were there to remove the fabric with his teeth. Louis watches as Harry feels himself up. His hand runs down his chest before palming at his crotch, his erection already prominent between his legs. He dips his hand inside his panties, gripping his length before stroking himself 

Louis’ hand flies down to his own dick, mirroring the same movements Harry’s doing in front of the camera. Harry looks straight at the camera, his eyes glazed and lips shiny pink.

“Wish you were here with me baby. Need you so much.” Harry moans as his hand moves faster. His back arches off the bed, making the prettiest noises. Louis can already feel his knot swelling and knows he won’t last much longer.

Harry uses his other hand to pinch his nipple. His eyes shut closed and his lips part open before he’s coming, some streaks spilling on his stomach. Louis wishes he were there to taste him.

Louis orgasm follows, his knot forming as he comes. “Fuck!”

Harry is panting on the bed, his eyes half lidded staring at the camera before a smile forms on his lips. 

“I love you, Lou. Can’t wait until I get to see you and get my mouth on you.” After another moment, Harry reaches for a remote and stops the recording, leaving Louis boneless, still coming down from his high.

If this is how worked up he’s getting over one video, he can only imagine what else is in store for him. When he’s settled down and cleaned himself up, Louis grabs his phone to send Harry a text message.

_ Loved the video, baby. I’m so lucky to have you. I love you and can’t wait to see you xx  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Those that kept up with the updates, y'all are who made this fic be what it is. If it wasn't for you guys, this fic would still be sitting in my wips folder so thank youuuuu! <3
> 
> You can reblog the fic post [here](https://dimpled-halo.tumblr.com/post/180818824918/until-i-found-you-by-dimpledhalo-chapters-1010).

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on tumblr @dimpled-halo and twitter @dimpled_halo :)


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